The Bail-Out
by legalliz
Summary: Stephanie Plum is getting married. Or is it all too good to be true? Rated T for future content flexibility.
1. Chapter 1

_For all my other readers: I'm still working on my other stories, but I needed a momentary mental gear-shift. This idea was too fun not to start. Enjoy!_

 _Disclaimer: All of the characters, personalities, and backstories belong to the delightful Janet Evanovich._

I stood in the hotel room admiring myself in the mirror. It was like looking at a princess from a fairy tale. The person staring back at me was wearing a flowing white gown, simple yet elegant. Her typically wild hair had been tamed into soft curls with help from a stylist, and part of it was pulled back and accentuated with a sparkling hair piece. An exquisite necklace hung around her neck and classic diamond earrings sparkled from her ears. I held up my left hand and stared at the rock on my finger. How had I let things get so out of hand?

Somewhere in the room I could hear a clock ticking. Or maybe it was my heart pounding in my ears. I started pacing nervously around the room. There was still time to think about all of this, right? I glanced at my phone. Ok, so not really. I was due downstairs is less than half an hour. Time for more pacing.

What to do? If I hadn't overheard the tail-end of that conversation, everything probably would've been fine. I would've gotten married and been in a first-class seat on a jet heading to the Caribbean for my honeymoon. Those tickets were nonrefundable, dang it! Of course the honeymoon could have been just part of the act too…

Maybe it was all a big misunderstanding. I probably owed it to him to at least talk about it, but I knew by the time I'd slumped on the bed that I'd already decided what I needed to do. I grabbed my suitcase from the side of the bed and started shoving my things into it. I frowned when I caught sight of the bikini I'd picked out specifically for the trip. Now I'd probably never get to wear the stupid thing.

With one last glance around the room, I sighed and shut the door. I poked my head into the hallway and made sure the coast was clear before heading to a side stairwell and slipping unnoticed out an emergency exit.

The hotel parking lot was bustling with arrivals and departures, and for a moment I wondered why I hadn't thought to change before leaving my hotel room. Thankfully since it was Vegas, the streets were often scattered with oddly dressed people. So basically I fit right in. I hailed a cab and asked to be taken to the airport.

The cab ride took forever. It was oddly quiet and gave me too much time alone with my thoughts. I didn't want to think about how close I had been to being an actual bride, to being a wife. It made that all-too familiar feeling of failure flood to the surface.

I arrived at the airport and used what I had left in cash to pay for my cab fare. While waiting in line to purchase a plane ticket, I felt my phone buzz. "Where are you?" the text read. Apparently my hasty departure had been discovered. Hopefully it would take a while for him to figure out where I'd headed.

"I need to get a one-way ticket on your next flight to Newark," I said at the ticket counter. The attendant eyed my gown. She gave me a brief look of sympathy then typed a few things into her computer.

"The next flight that's not completely full is a red-eye," she said.

I frowned handing her my ID and my credit card. "Whatever."

She typed in my information and tried running the card. "I'm sorry…the card's coming back as declined."

I handed her another one. "Here, try this one."

She swiped it and shook her head. "Sorry."

I glanced around looking for the nearest ATM but already knew it was pointless. The meager balance in my bank account wasn't going to cover my expensive escape flight home. I was beginning to understand why they recommended having some emergency funds in a savings account. Getting stranded really sucked.

I gathered my things and headed over to the lounge. My phone buzzed again. "We need to talk." I debated calling him for a moment and considered my options, but my mind was still flooded with all those things he'd said. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I'd been played. Big time. I slammed the phone on the table attracting the attention from several drinkers and diners nearby.

I hung my head in my hands. The bartender walked by and set a drink in front of me. I glanced up at him. "I didn't order anything," I mumbled.

He pointed to a man across the lounge who looked to be probably twice my age. "The guy over there says it's on him," he said turning back to the bar to fill another drink order.

Maybe he had a daughter my age or maybe he was hoping with a few more drinks his age really wouldn't be that noticeable anymore. I took a sip then subtly raised the glass his direction and mouthed "thank you." He smiled then returned to reading his book. Apparently he was just being kind.

I finished the drink and started scrolling through my contact list. Surely someone in here wouldn't mind blowing a few hundred dollars to bail me out, right? My parents were the obvious first choice since I was their daughter and they've gotten me out of some sticky situations in the past. But the questions… This wedding had kind of been a semi-spontaneous affair. I was bound to get the third degree from my mom on this one for sure. And I just wasn't ready for that. Not yet.

After flipping through the majority of my contacts, I realized that I'd feel terrible asking any one of them for money. Probably because I'd done it so many times in the past. Maybe I could drain what was left of my checking account and win big in Vegas? Ok, obviously the thought was ridiculous, and I knew it.

I played with the little straw in my drink. There was that _other_ number; a number that was no longer in my phone. That person wouldn't ask questions. But there was a good chance that person wouldn't answer a phone call from me either. We hadn't exactly parted on the most amicable terms.

The numbers suddenly appeared on my phone screen. Apparently I'd typed them in without even thinking. It was kind of strange. Maybe I'd never be able to forget their combination. How many times had I called this number before? Too many maybe. Could be part of the reason I was in this mess in the first place.

"Just one last time," I thought to myself. "If he even answers…" I took a deep breath and dialed. It rang and rang. With each ring I felt a little more anxious. Of course he wasn't going to answer. Why should he? I was about to close the phone when I noticed the call had connected.

"Hey," I said quietly. Several moments of silence passed before I realized I wasn't going to get a response. "I'm stranded in Vegas," I started. "I could really use a plane ticket home. I'll pay you back," I added quickly. "With interest." I tried to smile a little. Still no answer.

"I'm a little desperate here." The tears started to well up in my eyes. "I swear it's the last time I'll bother you…for anything. It's just that I'm stranded, and you were the only person I could think to call, and I've made a mess of every…"

"No," he said. The answer was short and abrupt. I felt like the wind had been momentarily knocked out of my lungs.

"Yeah," I said choking back tears. "You're right. I shouldn't have called. Sorry." I pressed the "end" button.

Today was starting to feel like the worst day of my life. And here it was supposed to have been one of the best. Life's ironic like that sometimes. I guess I'd spend the night in the airport and call my parents in the morning. Or if I absolutely had to, I could probably hitchhike my way back. It'd be an adventure, right?

After staring at the wall for twenty minutes musing about all the psychopaths that could pick me up along the road from here to New Jersey, I was surprised to feel my phone buzz. It was another text. But not from who I expected.

It was a flight and confirmation number! I was suddenly flooded with so many emotions that I didn't even know what to do. I thought about calling him back, but what would be the point? I wrote "thank you" in reply and tried to find a suitable emoji face. Apparently there wasn't one for being indebted to someone forever. I went with a batman face instead and hit send.

The flight departed three hours later, thankfully without any sign of my thwarted groom. By then, it was getting late, so I spent part of the flight sleeping. The rest of it I spent staring at the drawn shade over the window reflecting on the last several months of my life. I'd only met Ben Johnson ten months ago. Was that even possible? Ms. Commitment Issues engaged and almost married in ten months? That should have been a red flag right there. But it had all felt so right, so perfect. I guess the old adage is still accurate: if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

The landing was uneventful, but I was definitely starting to feel the effects of pulling an all-nighter. My eyelids hung half-mast and my legs felt like they were stuck in thigh-deep mud. It probably took thirty extra minutes to make it to the baggage claim. I grabbed my suitcase and hoped I had enough on one of my credit cards to pay for a cab ride back to my apartment.

Cool morning air blasted me as I walked through the automatic doors giving me a momentary jolt out of my sleepy stupor. A dark car flashed its lights and headed toward me. It took me a moment to realize I recognized the vehicle. The black Porsche was kind of hard to miss. Ranger got out and tossed my suitcase in the back.

"Thanks for coming to get me," I yawned before opening the passenger door. Ranger stood and stared at me for a moment. I forgot I was still wearing the dress. I crossed my arms across my chest uncomfortably then slid into the passenger seat.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked starting the car.

I shook my head. "Maybe eventually," I sighed. "But not right now." Between the hum of the car, the swirling warm air from the heater, and the lingering scent of Bulgari in the air, I was asleep before we even pulled into traffic.


	2. Chapter 2

Ten Months Ago

It had been another early morning for me. The latest skip I'd been tracking for work had proven to be a little more elusive than I had expected. I had spent the previous week exhausting all my leads only to continually find myself one step behind him. I needed a break in this case, a stroke of luck. Someone needed to rat this person out, and I was hoping that I'd just found the right cheese for the right rat.

"One tray of brownies as promised," I said stepping out of my car.

A greasy, weasely-looking man with a sharp nose and beady little eyes slipped out of the shadows to inspect the goods. Raymond Allen Tagwood was one of several permanent inhabitants of the streets. He survived by panhandling and occasionally dabbling in some unrefined pickpocketing. The pickpocketing had landed him in prison a few times, which is how the two of us had initially met.

He lifted the foil and inhaled deeply. "Sure smells legit to me," he said with a wink. He went to snatch the pan from my hands.

"Not so fast," I said pulling it back. "Tell me where Rocky is first."

Ray frowned. "He's not gonna like you bein' all sneaky like this. The guy's a recluse for a reason, ya know."

"He's a recluse who missed his court date, and I don't have time to play hide and seek. I've got bills to pay and other delinquents to track down."

Ray eyed the brownies longingly. "Yeah, I guess you've got a point." He shifted uncomfortably. "Rocky usually drops by that pawn shop off 10th once a month, but I heard he got his hands on something over the weekend that might be worth more than his usual junk. I'm betting he'll make an appearance sometime today to organize the sale."

It wasn't the best tip I'd ever gotten. But it wasn't the worst either. I handed Ray the tray of brownies. He removed part of the foil and dug out a corner piece. He practically swallowed it whole before disappearing back into the shadows.

"Tell Mooner he should open a bakery," Ray called with a smile. It was true Mooner's brownies weren't half bad. But they were also a little on the illegal side. And I may have known that their "secret" ingredient was a selling point for Ray. I'd already decided this didn't exactly make me a drug dealer, but I felt a little guilty about it just the same. Oh well. I'd gotten the lead I was after.

As I was getting into my car, I heard another vehicle pull in behind me. I glanced in my side mirror, but I was pretty sure I already knew who it was based on the purr of that particular engine. Ranger slid out of his black Porsche and walked over to my car. I subconsciously licked my lips then rolled down my window.

"Welcome back," I said with a smile. "Any luck tracking down the Joker? Or was it Two-face this time?"

"I'd say more along the lines of the Riddler." His mouth twitched into a subtle smile. "I didn't think you'd notice I was gone."

"Are you kidding? The air pressure in my apartment hasn't changed for like two whole weeks." Ranger gave me a look. "Ok, and I may have tried to call you. It went straight to voicemail. And you didn't call me back."

"Did you try Tank?"

"It wasn't really an emergency. I just needed someone to bounce some ideas off of. No big deal."

Ranger got a funny look then raised an eyebrow. "Do I smell brownies? And a hint of something a little more…organic?"

"They were for a friend," I said sheepishly.

"Babe."

"Hey, you weren't around for input, so I was left to my own devices." I glanced at the clock in my car. "Which reminds me, I've gotta run. Duty calls."

"Anything needing my assistance?"

"I sure hope not. I'm figuring the 'bluff him and cuff him' technique will work just fine."

"Sounds complicated. I'd go with the ' _rough_ him and cuff him' technique myself. It's faster."

"Well some of us can't just turn on Hulk mode and slam people into walls."

"Come swing by the Rangeman gym sometime and I'll have you wall-slamming before you know it."

Ranger was being unusually chatty and flirtatious. And I was kind of enjoying it. Too bad I really had somewhere else to be.

"Maybe. Except I still equate exercise with torture."

"Maybe you just need a good motivator."

Yep. This conversation was definitely heading in an all too familiar direction. Any moment now I was probably going to get another invitation; this time to the apartment a few floors above the gym. Too bad I'd have to figure out my answer later.

"Listen, I'm glad you made it back ok, but I'm really on a tight schedule. Maybe we could catch up some other time?"

Ranger nodded. "Sure. Good luck."

I started my car and glanced back in my rearview. Ranger had always spelled trouble for me. We obviously had something going on between us, but I was always secretly worried that whatever it was would eventually come to an end. At least Ranger had always been up front with his intentions. It should have kept things from getting complicated, but instead it made me want what I knew I couldn't have.

I wanted the relationship. I wanted to move in to the bat cave. Hell, I wanted the white dress, the tropical honeymoon, and yes, maybe even the screaming babies. Ok, maybe I was a little worried babies with Ranger might come out with a gun strapped to their hip, but they'd still be freaking adorable, right?

Obviously I'd let myself get a little carried away with the fantasy. Especially since all that future stuff had already been blatantly rejected. Several times. Maybe it was time to give up the Batman daydream. Or maybe it was time to embrace what we had and enjoy it. I sighed to myself putting the car in gear. Why did making these decisions always have to be so much easier said than done?

I pulled up to the pawn shop and did some quick surveillance. The shop hadn't opened yet, and there weren't any signs of Rocky hanging around nearby. I wondered what he'd managed to get his hands on this time. Unlike Ray, Rocky was a skilled thief and knew exactly where to unload his hot merchandise before getting caught. Well, most of the time. Some bad leads and a successful police sting operation had led to his file showing up at the bonds office.

The folder was sitting on the seat next to me. I thumbed through it to kill some time. Mostly I studied the picture: dark hair, clean shaven, average build, maybe late twenties to mid-thirties. He was your typical Jersey anybody, which would probably make picking him out of a crowd a bit of a challenge. I turned my attention back to the pawn shop.

Twenty minutes later, the shop opened and I poised myself ready for action. A few customers came and went, but nobody of particular interest. I was starting to feel antsy…and hungry. Hopefully this Rocky stake-out wouldn't take all day.

A man in a dark hoody started walking towards the shop. He had a backpack and was glancing around somewhat nervously. I slowly got out of my car and started making my way toward him.

I followed him into the shop and accidentally bumped into an older man with a cane. The cane fell to the floor and I quickly picked it up while trying not to lose track of the guy in the hoody.

"Sorry," I said distractedly handing the cane back.

"Not a problem, dear," he answered tipping his hat as he made his way out the door.

I watched the hoody guy for a few more minutes before making my move. I snuck up behind him and slapped some cuffs on his wrists. He spun around almost knocking me to the ground. I yanked the hood off his head and gasped. Not Rocky. But there was definitely enough of a resemblance to pose as a lookalike.

"Where is he?" I yelled.

Not-Rocky grinned. "Long gone, lady. Better luck next time."

I glanced around the store. "Anybody seen this guy's lookalike?" I called.

"You did," Not-Rocky said as he snorted back a laugh. "Slipped right past you."

I thought for a moment. No… The old man? I ran outside. No sign of Rocky, but the cane and hat were sitting in a nearby trash can. I kicked the can in frustration. Dammit! Given the slip again.

Maybe I could still get some info from his lookalike. I turned around just in time to watch Not-Rocky sprint down the street. I'd been doing this for too long to be making stupid amateur mistakes like this. I walked back into the shop and stopped at the counter.

"Did he at least leave me my cuffs?" I asked with a sigh.

The man shook his head. "Sorry."

I'd have to see if Ranger could lend me another pair. And maybe I'd take him up on his offer for assistance. This Rocky was proving to be a giant pain in the butt.

I moped back to my car in defeat. To add insult to injury, there was a note tucked under my windshield wiper. "Better luck next time Plum," it read. I was really annoyed that all of this was amusing to Rocky. On the positive side, my rising frustration levels were only adding to my resolve to outsmart this slippery slimeball. With a little help from Ranger, this guy was as good as caught.

My stomach rumbled loudly as I pulled onto 10th. I wasn't super familiar with the area, and I hadn't noticed any bakeries on the drive over. There had been a little coffee shop down the road a ways. A coffee and a pastry or two didn't sound too bad. Even if they were overpriced.

I pulled up to the drive-thru and thunked my head on my steering wheel when I noticed the sign saying the intercom was broken. I parked the car and grabbed my handbag in a huff. Hopefully the caffeine and sugar fix would be worth it.

The girl at the counter looked like she'd already had a dozen shots of espresso.

"What can I get for you?" she asked with a giant, perky smile.

"Just a coffee and a couple of donuts," I grumbled.

"Sorry, we just sold out of our donuts. We have a few slices of our broccoli and cheese quiche left. Or there's some cookies or apple-cinnamon bread."

I frowned. Was a simple donut really too much to ask for? "I'll take a cookie, I guess."

"Oatmeal raisin ok?" she asked. Are you kidding me? Those are just healthy foods disguised as cookies.

"Whatever."

"That'll be $7.45."

"Of course it will." I shoved her a $10 bill and grabbed my stupid cookie and coffee cup that must have been made of gold. I was just about to leave when the door flew open spilling my piping hot coffee all down my shirt. Without even thinking, I yanked the shirt over my head trying to get the scalding liquid away from my skin.

"Shit, I'm sorry," a guy said. "Is there something… Can I help you with…? He quickly grabbed some napkins from the counter and tried wiping off my chest.

"Whoa! Hands off, buddy!" I snapped. I grabbed the napkins and started dabbing at my pink skin. The guy stood staring at me. I was only marginally embarrassed by the fact that I was standing in a coffee shop in just my bra. Mostly I was distracted by the throbbing burning sensation still lingering on some very sensitive parts of my body.

"Is there _anything_ I can do to make it up to you?" the guy asked apologetically.

"Yeah. Stay the hell away from me."

"At least let me buy you another coffee."

"Yeah, more hot liquid sounds like a _great_ idea…"

He thought for a moment. "Hey, I just picked up some dry cleaning. Do you want to borrow a shirt?"

"No thanks. I doubt it will enhance my grungy jeans look today."

"Please? It's honestly the least I can do." He looked like a puppy that had just peed all over the floor and was desperately trying to make amends.

I sighed. "Fine. Where are you parked?"

He pointed to a red sports car parked next to me. I followed him outside. He opened the door and tossed me a white dress shirt. "Want the tie that goes with it?" he asked with a smirk.

I shook my head while buttoning a few of the buttons. "Does it look as ridiculous as I imagined it would?"

"Actually it looks pretty darn good. Kind of sexy even." I rolled my eyes. "I really am sorry about the coffee. Can I take you to dinner sometime? Prove I'm not a complete jerk." I had to admit his puppy routine was starting to wear me down. I sighed.

"Ok. You can take me to dinner. But if any of my food ends up in my lap, you're toast."

"Deal," he said with a grin. I stuck my hand out.

"Stephanie Plum," I said. Instead of shaking my hand he leaned down and kissed it.

"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Ben Johnson."


	3. Chapter 3

After the coffee fiasco, I decided to head back to my apartment to grab a clean shirt and regroup. Rocky was still on the loose, and I decided I wasn't getting anywhere with him on my own. I grabbed my phone and dialed Ranger's number. I was a little bummed when it went to voicemail. He was probably busy getting everything back in order after his mysterious leave of absence. I left a brief message as I headed into my building.

I sighed as I opened my door. Everything was just as I'd left it that morning, which unfortunately meant I had some serious cleaning to do. My unfolded laundry was tossed in a heap on the couch, so I flipped on the TV and started organizing some piles. Once my clothes were mostly put away and I had successfully cleaned Rex's hamster habitat, I decided to scope out the food scene.

The refrigerator was practically empty save for some random condiments, a half-eaten jar of olives, and some beer. I probably needed to make an impromptu trip to the grocery store, but right now my grocery funds were mostly nonexistent. Especially if I didn't want to be evicted this month. Maybe a trip to my parents' house for dinner was the better plan. At least until Ranger and I hauled Rocky in. I was just about to call my mom when my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Stephanie?" asked an unfamiliar voice.

"Last time I checked."

There was an audible sigh on the other end. "That's a relief. For a moment I was worried you gave me one of those reject hotline numbers. Honestly I wouldn't have blamed you since I did manage to scald you with your own coffee."

"It's Ben, right?"

"You remembered."

"It was a rough morning, and obviously my mind wasn't firing on all cylinders. Is it too late to give you a phony number?" I teased.

"Um…yes?"

"Bummer. Seems like you owe me a dinner then."

"I was hoping you'd say that. How does tomorrow night sound?"

"Sounds kind of soon."

"I figure the longer I let you think about things, the higher the probability that you might back out on the dinner. Sound accurate?"

"I guess you'll just have to find out. Is there a dress code for this dinner?"

"I wouldn't mind seeing you in my shirt again… But maybe we should have a few more dates under our belts before that." I felt my cheeks warm. This Ben guy was pretty brazen, and at the moment I wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad sign.

"I didn't realize this was going to be an actual date," I said trying not to sound as flustered as I felt. "I thought it was more of an apology dinner."

"Shoot. You're already seeing someone aren't you? Of course you are. Why would a beautiful woman like you be single?" The compliments and flattery were scoring Ben some major points.

"No, it's nothing like that. I just don't like to rush into things. I mean, I barely know you, and your shirt's already lying on the floor of my apartment. That's weird, right?"

"Maybe. But I've only been at work for a couple hours, and I can't stop thinking about our encounter at the coffee shop. I'd be pretty useless today unless I knew I'd get to see you again. Please don't make me lose my job. Say you'll let me take you to dinner tomorrow?"

"Lose your job, huh? Sounds pretty extreme. I guess I could agree to _one_ dinner. But nothing fancy, ok?"

"Well there goes my plan to fly you to Paris on my private jet. Guess I'll have to save that for the second date."

I rolled my eyes. "You're assuming there will _be_ a second date. Are you always this confident?"

"Is there any other way to be?"

"Apparently not."

"I'll text you the details later. I've got to rethink things after you put the kibosh on Paris."

"Funny. I'll see you tomorrow Ben."

"Best news I've heard all day."

I met Ben the following evening at a diner. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans and his dazzling smile. His eyes were bright with eager excitement.

"I'm glad you decided to show. You said no fancy stuff, so hopefully this place is ok. They've got some of the best burgers in town."

I could feel my stomach rumble at the mention of food. So far I had only managed to eat half a stale pop tart and a peanut butter and olive sandwich. Needless to say, I was beyond hungry.

"Looks alright to me," I smiled.

We grabbed a booth in a quiet corner, and I casually glanced at the menu. Would it be absolutely horrible to order two meals? Probably. A double cheeseburger I guess would have to suffice. Ben was watching me from across the table.

"You look like you're having a hard time deciding on what to get. Want to make it easy and split like four different meals? We could get some to-go boxes for whatever we don't finish."

Was this guy for real? _Four_ meals? The only bad thing was there probably wouldn't be much left over once I got through with eating. Still, the offer was a little too enticing to turn down.

"You really wouldn't mind doing something like that?"

"Are you kidding? I missed lunch today. I'm starving."

"Me too," I said with a laugh.

The waitress came to take our order. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head as she continued to jot down all of our requests. After some careful deliberation, we'd settled on a bacon cheeseburger, a meatball sub, fries, tater tots, a pasta dish with a savory marinara sauce, and two chocolate milkshakes. It was a heart attack waiting to happen, _and_ it was definitely one of the craziest food orders I'd ever made. Ben hadn't even batted an eye.

"I like a girl with a good appetite," he smiled after the waitress left.

"You've met the right girl then. I've been known to polish off an entire bag of donuts all on my own."

"What's your favorite donut?" he asked leaning in like I was about to reveal a dark secret.

"My favorite?" I thought for a moment. "It's probably gotta be a Boston Crème, but I go in phases."

"That's a relief. I'd be worried we'd be fighting over the last donut all the time if you'd said apple fritters."

I took a sip of my water. "So Ben, what kind of work do you do when you're not eating apple fritters or spilling coffee on unsuspecting women?"

Ben glanced down sheepishly. "Still haven't forgiven me for that yet, huh? Anything else I can do to make it up to you?"

"I'll let you know if I think of something."

"I'm kind of a corporate consultant of sorts. The big shots call me when they want to do the major sales or trades. It's given me some opportunities for travel, and as it turns out, I'm pretty good at negotiating with people."

"So I've noticed." He grinned.

"What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a bond enforcement agent." It didn't sound nearly as cool as a corporate consultant, but Ranger had always made it sound exciting. Surely I could do a decent job at giving it a positive spin.

"Is that kind of like a bounty hunter?"

"Yep. That's exactly what it's kind of like."

"Sounds fun."

"It has its moments. I like the flexibility, and as weird as it sounds, I've met some really great people while doing it.

"That's great. It's always a nice perk to enjoy what you do." It was true I did enjoy parts of my job, but the sporadic pay checks and occasional trips to the emergency room were definitely _not_ that enjoyable. I suppose every job had its high and low points though.

Our food arrived, and I dove in with reckless abandon. Hopefully Ben wasn't staring at me in horror because I was honestly too starved at this point to notice. After making a sizable dent in our four-dinner feast, I decided it was time to wrap up the date.

"This has been surprisingly enjoyable," I said wiping my mouth. I did a quick glance at my shirt to make sure it wasn't smeared with food. "You didn't even spill a single hot beverage on me."

"Does that mean we can do this again sometime?" he smirked.

"I definitely don't think I'm ready for Paris, but yeah, we can do another local dinner sometime."

"How does tomorrow sound?"

"Tomorrow?" I sputtered. "As in I-go-to-bed-and-wake-up-tomorrow tomorrow? That's really…soon."

"I'd ask if you'd want to stay the night if I didn't think it sounded too presumptuous. I honestly can't get enough of you."

I blushed. "How about we compromise and set another date for a few days from now?"

"That long?" he pretended to whine.

"Take it or leave it, buddy."

"I guess you leave me with no other choice than to accept." He sighed. "In two days it is." We shook hands like it was a business deal.

Ben got the check then walked me back to my car. He handed me the bag of leftovers.

"Don't you want any of this?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I want you to remember what a great time you had. Did you know our strongest memories are linked to smells and tastes?"

I chuckled. "I didn't. Guess I just learned something new."

Ben hadn't turned to leave yet and was starting to shift uncomfortably on his feet.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Just debating."

"Debating about what?"

He reached for my arm and yanked me toward him. "This," he said as he leaned in to kiss me. My toes curled in my shoes.

"Wow," I said a little breathless.

"Wow good or wow bad?" he asked, eyebrow raised. I hopped in my car.

"You'll just have to wait to find out." He raised his arms in an "are you kidding me?" gesture as I pulled out of the parking lot. Truth be told, Ben was a phenomenal kisser. Rivaled only maybe by Ranger. The data was too spaced out right now to accurately determine who officially came out on top. All I knew is that it had to be close.

I drove home in a full-tummy, just-been-kissed daze. The date had gone much better than I had expected, and I was surprised to find that I was actually looking forward to date number two with Ben. I was never this lucky when it came to blind dates.

Before I knew it, I was already back in the apartment building parking lot. I took the elevator to the second floor and dug through my bag for my keys. I opened the door and flipped on some lights before nearly jumping out of my skin. Ranger was sitting on my couch.

"Babe," he said with a slight grin.


	4. Chapter 4

"Were you sitting in my living room alone and in the dark?" I asked while putting the leftovers away in the fridge.

"Your hamster's been keeping me company. And I had the TV on until I saw your car pull in outside." I gave him a "that's still weird" look while subtly taking in his appearance. Ranger's hair was trimmed shorter than the last time I saw him. His facial stubble was gone, and his skin was making me wish I'd eaten dessert already. He was looking entirely too delicious for his own good.

"Do I dare ask the reason for this visit?"

Ranger's eyes grew a little darker. "Babe."

I took a seat in the chair next to the couch trying to establish a relatively safe distance between the two of us. "How was the trip?" I asked casually.

"Long," he replied.

"You've been on longer."

"It felt long. I was missing everything back here."

I raised an eyebrow. "You missed _Trenton_?" I stood and leaned over him putting my hand on his forehead. "You feeling ok?" I asked jokingly.

He caught my arm and pulled me onto the couch. "I feel fine."

"Ah." I was nearly sitting in his lap. I practically sprang off the couch when his hand slid around my waist. "Need something to drink?" I blurted. "I'm parched." Of course I was all panicky now and drank four glasses of water in rapid succession before I realized my stomach was feeling all sloshy. And starting to make some very scary noises. I felt a sharp pain and doubled over in the kitchen. Oh my gosh! I'd just killed myself with _water_!

"Babe?"

Ranger was now standing in the kitchen behind me. I was in so much abdominal distress that I couldn't even say anything, but I was hoping my facial expressions were sending the message "get out while you still can!" loud and clear. Of course Ranger didn't leave, and of course I proceeded to vomit up my four-dinner feast in the kitchen sink.

For a moment I slumped over the counter and wished I could crawl down the drain pipe. This was way too much embarrassment even for me. Ranger grabbed the kitchen towel and wet it under the faucet. He folded it and put it on my forehead.

"Feeling any better?" he asked.

I closed my eyes and wished I could just die already. My legs felt shaky and I wanted to sit down, but I was terrified to move.

Ranger put my arm around his neck. "Let me help you at least get over to the couch. Think you can make it?"

Hell no! Right now the couch felt as far away as Disneyland. I took a few stumbly steps before I had the horrifying realization that I was going to be sick again. My arms got all tangled around Ranger as I tried to pull quickly away from him, but before I could avoid it, I threw up all over his black t-shirt.

We both stood staring at the shirt for a moment. Ranger snapped out of the daze first and eased me onto the floor for a minute while he pulled the shirt off. Had the circumstances been any different, this would have been the best development of the entire evening. Shirtless Ranger was a work of art. However, considering the room was still spinning like an amusement park ride, I didn't exactly have the full presence of mind to appreciate it.

Ranger tossed the soiled shirt in the sink then proceeded to scoop me up again. Instead of the initial plan to take me to the couch, he must have changed his mind because he carried me to the bathroom instead. Which turned out to be a beyond brilliant idea because I threw up two more times.

"This is so much worse than hangover puke," I moaned leaning over the toilet. I was beginning to worry I'd never want to eat again. Ranger disappeared for a few minutes and returned with some clean clothes and a glass of water. He helped me out of my vomit-splattered clothing and into the clean stuff before disappearing again. Hopefully he was making a run for it.

The ironic bit was that this wasn't the first time I'd thrown up in front of Ranger. Granted the last time was because I had been poisoned. This bout I owed to the fact that I was a gluttonous mess who still couldn't manage to be up front with a man I'd known for several years. I'd tried to drown my anxieties over rejecting his advances and coming clean about my recent date with Ben; now I was apparently suffering the consequences. Or maybe it was just a bout of food poisoning.

I was beginning to think I'd be spending the night with the toilet as my pillow when Ranger reappeared in the bathroom.

"Sorry that took so long. I couldn't find where you kept all your cleaning supplies."

I grunted glancing up at him. "You didn't…" I mumbled. "Please tell me you didn't clean that up."

"You can be mad at me about that later. Want to brush your teeth?" He handed me my toothbrush.

I scrubbed them the best I could and gargled with some water. My mouth still felt disgusting but at least the taste had improved. I'd buy another toothbrush the next time I was at the store.

Ranger helped me to my feet again and half-walked half-carried me to my room. I crumpled onto the bed and curled myself into a tight ball. Now that my stomach was completely empty, the sharp pains were starting to subside. Maybe I wasn't going to die after all.

I heard some faint rustling sounds coming from somewhere beyond my bedroom. Apparently Ranger hadn't left yet. Or maybe someone had broken in. Hopefully it was just Ranger because I was too wrapped up in my current state of agony to do anything about an intruder. I pulled my blankets tightly around my shoulders and eventually drifted into an uncomfortable sleep.

The next morning I was pulled from my slumber by the sun flickering through my window. I slowly uncurled myself from the fetal position I had apparently slept in all night and grimaced at the dull ache I still felt in my stomach. Last night had been a monumental disaster.

I stared at my ceiling reliving some of lower points of the night. Laying on the toilet seat with vomit-spattered clothing was probably rock bottom. Although it could have been tied with the expression Ranger had after I threw up all over him. He probably wouldn't be dropping by for a while… I thought about what Ben had said about memories being stronger when they were tied to smells and tastes. Hopefully Ranger wouldn't be henceforth associated in my mind with puke.

As I started to crawl out of my bed, I heard a faint knock on the door. I wasn't expecting anyone. Maybe it was a neighbor. I threw on a sweatshirt and headed for the door. My visitor was already in the living room.

"You're a glutton for punishment," I said flopping on the couch.

Ranger handed me a bag. "Your clothes, some soda crackers, and some peppermint tea."

I raised an eyebrow. "Thanks?"

"There's also a donut in there if you're feeling up for it."

I frowned. "I'm not sure I ever want to eat again." The thought didn't last very long because the next thing I knew, I had pulled out a few soda crackers and had started nibbling along the edges. "Is there a reason for the personal delivery service this morning?"

"You'd called me the other day. Before the evening turned in to a scene from the Exorcist, I was hoping to get a chance to talk with you."

"Don't remind me…" I muttered putting my head in my hand.

"Did you need something?"

"Just the usual. Having trouble with a skip. He's playing games with me, and I'm fresh out of ideas."

Ranger sat down next to me. "Give me a call when you're ready for the take-down and I'll see what I can do."

"Alright. Glad that's settled. Anything else you wanted to discuss?"

"Yes."

Ranger was just about to say something when I noticed a white shirt in the bag. I pulled it out.

"Oh my gosh."

Ranger paused. "Sorry. I found it in your closet, and I needed a shirt. Was it something the cop left behind?"

I laughed. Morelli hardly wore white dress shirts. In fact I'm fairly sure he didn't own any. They made him look like a member of the mafia.

"No, it belongs to someone else."

Ranger's jaw tightened a little. "Are you seeing someone?"

"No," I blurted. "Well, kind of. Maybe. He spilled coffee on me, and we've been on one date."

Ranger glanced over at the kitchen. "The leftovers last night?"

I nodded. He shifted his weight.

"I take it the date wasn't a disaster."

"Well, not the _actual_ date. The aftermath was the real horror show."

"Mmm."

"I'm sorry. You were about to say something before the whole shirt business came up."

"Maybe it should wait."

"Ok." I couldn't read his expression. Probably because there wasn't anything to read.

"Hope you feel better. Call me when you want to bring in the skip."

Ranger got up and left. I wasn't really sure what to make of the visit. It hadn't been anything too abnormal, but before the abrupt departure, I was pretty sure Ranger was giving off a weird vibe. And if my spidey sense was working properly, I was almost sure that vibe had very subtle undertones of jealousy.


	5. Chapter 5

After polishing off the remainder of the soda crackers, I decided I was no longer in danger of reliving my nightmare from the previous evening, so I went and hopped in the shower. I created a quick mental rundown for the day, blow dried my hair, threw on some clothes and headed over to the bonds office. My phone buzzed just as I was walking through the door. It was Ben.

"What's with the dopey grin?" Lula asked. She was leaning up against Connie's desk.

I shrugged my shoulders and put the phone back in my bag. "I don't know what you're talking about," I said.

"Uh huh. You can't pull one over ole Lula that easy, girl." She walked over to me and sniffed the air. "Smells like you ain't done the deed yet, but you sure are thinking about it. A lot." She raised an eyebrow. "Batman been dropping by your place again?"

I sighed. "No. I mean, yes, but…no. Ranger's not interested in that."

Lula and Connie both looked at each other. "Uh huh," they both said in unison.

"No, I mean… Well of course he's interested in _that_." I flopped on the couch. "He's just not interested in what comes after."

"Not a cuddler, huh?" Lula asked. Connie poked her hard in the arm. "Geez! What was that for?"

I wrung my hands in the air. "I don't even know why we're talking about this anyway. I'm just smiling because I'm in a good mood. That's all. End of story."

"Honey, there's only one reason for a good mood like that. Ok, maybe two. But I seriously doubt you'd be here if you'd just won the lottery." Lula had a point. But I wasn't ready to gush over Ben yet. We'd only been on the one date, and I was worried I'd jinx everything.

"Any new skips?" I asked trying to change the subject.

Connie handed me a few folders. "How's it going with Rocky?" she asked. "Any luck?"

I frowned. "Got close with a tip from Ray, but the jerk outsmarted me. Walked right in front of me, and I didn't even notice."

Lula leaned in. "I wouldn't be broadcasting that too loud. Vinnie's in one of his moods." As if on some cosmic cue, Vinnie's door opened.

"What the hell are you all standing around here for?" he yelled. "I pay you for bond enforcement not yakking in the office all day."

"See what I mean?" Lula whispered.

I wasn't in the mood for a shouting match, so I grabbed Lula and headed out to the parking lot.

"Who spit in his coffee this morning?" I asked getting into my car.

"I did, but I don't think that's why he's in a funk," Lula replied. I smirked. "Heard his wife tossed him out again, which probably wouldn't be that big of a deal except for the fact that she went crying to her daddy about a broken heart. Let's just say he's been making life pretty miserable for Vinnie lately. Not that the creep don't deserve it…" I nodded in agreement. "What's the plan for today, hot stuff?"

"More work on the Rocky problem. I just asked Ranger if he could help bring him in, but I still need some kind of starting point. I figured I'd swing by the pawn shop on 10th and see what dirt I can dig up from the dealers. Someone's gotta know where this guy hangs his hat."

"Know if he's got himself a girl?" I shook my head.

"He's got an accomplice that kind of resembles him, but as far as I know that's the only other person he has semi-regular contact with."

"Kind of a weirdo then?"

"Yeah. I guess. Maybe more of a recluse."

"You know where I'd hang out if I was a weirdo?"

"With me?" Lula laughed.

"Definitely. But seriously, it would probably have to be at one of them arcades. Them recluse weirdos are always frequenting the arcades. You're almost always guaranteed to find them there."

"You mean those places where you bring a bag of quarters and play video games all day?"

"Yeah, but quarters ain't gonna cut it these days. You gotta have greenbacks to play the games now. At some of the fancier places you even have reloadable cards. They're the sneaky ones though. You can blow through a whole day's paycheck without even noticing."

I gave her a look. "Sounds like you know from experience."

"It's where I go sometimes to refine my shooting technique." _That_ explained a lot. "Wanna go check it out?"

"Maybe after the pawn shop. I kind of want to know what Rocky's been dealing lately."

"Whatever you say. Just don't go getting' all mad at me if Rocky leaves the arcade before we get there."

I rolled my eyes. "I think I'll chance it."

We made our way to the pawn shop on 10th after a quick stop for coffee and donuts. I shoved the remainder of the last Boston Crème in my mouth before heading inside. The place was mostly empty, so I took the opportunity to chat with the guy at the counter. Lula went to go scope out the jewelry.

"Got anything new in lately?" I asked casually.

"We get new stuff in all the time, sweetheart. What are you in the market for?" Good question. All I knew about Rocky's merchandise was that it was probably worth more than the usual stuff he brought in. Which probably wasn't saying much.

"I heard Rocky brought something in the other day. Still have it around?"

"Nope."

"Mind if I ask what it was?"

"Sorry, lady. I've been sworn to secrecy."

I tried to give him the stare-down, but he refused to crack. Probably because I hadn't refined my stare-down technique yet. "What would it take for you to let a little tidbit of information slip?"

"More'n you got, I'm afraid. Anything else? If not, I've got a business to run."

"Sure you do," I muttered. I gave him a dirty look then went to grab Lula.

"What's the rush?" she asked as I pushed her out the door. "I was pretty sure I'd just found me a Tiffany's bracelet."

"For how much?"

"It was on sale for $30."

I gave her a look. "It's gotta be a knock-off."

"Maybe they just don't know it's real," she argued.

I didn't have a chance to say anything back because I was suddenly distracted by the person leaning against my car.

Lula smirked over at me. "Well what d'ya know. It's Batman."

Ranger ignored the comment. "Any updates from the pawn shop?"

My shoulders slumped. "No. I even tried the stare-down technique."

Ranger's mouth twitched. "You'll have to show me that sometime."

"It's not very effective."

"Maybe not for interrogation. But I'll bet when those baby blues are used to their full effect, they can get a guy to do whatever you want."

Whoa. A small part of me wanted to test that theory right here on the street. Except Lula was watching. And I had another date with Ben.

"Interesting theory you have there."

"It's a bit more than a theory, babe." Ranger was obviously in one of his friendly moods. If the circumstances had involved a more desperate Stephanie, this probably would have been an awesome development. After all, friendly Ranger is fun Ranger. But I kind of like Ben. He's direct and fun, and the toe-curling kiss suggests some pretty darn good chemistry. We obviously haven't gotten to anything remotely close to discussions about the future, but I have a feeling Ben doesn't have Ranger's past to deal with. It makes things much less complicated.

"Got a plan B for your skip?" Ranger asked.

"We're gonna hit the arcade downtown," Lula blurted. "Care to join us?"

I was pretty shocked to see Ranger actually considering the offer.

"I've gotta wrap some things up first, but I should be able to meet up with you in a half an hour or so."

"Ok then," I said sliding into my car. "I guess we'll see you there."

Ranger started walking back toward his Porsche.

"Why'd you go and do that?" I asked once we pulled back out on 10th.

Lula looked over at me. "Do what?"

"Invite Ranger to the arcade."

"I thought you wanted his help."

"I do, but we don't even know if the arcade's a good lead. It could be a dead end."

"Oh, don't you worry about that. I've got me a good feeling going."

"Well that's a relief. Especially considering your feelings are _never_ wrong."

"Damn skippy, girl."

We parked the car across the street from the arcade. I wasn't sure this was such a good idea.

"You coming, or what?" Lula hollered. I took a deep breath and followed her inside.

The arcade was dimly lit with lights flashing intermittently from the games. Beeps, thunks, and pings echoed in a cacophonous racket all around me. It was already starting to give me a headache.

I followed Lula over to a money change machine and watched her slip in a twenty. "Don't let me spend any more than this, ok?" She grabbed her pile of cash and headed over to a game marked "Combat Duty." "Got me a high score on this sucker once," she said. "Wanna have a go?" I shook my head.

Lula picked up the gun and put in her money. Almost instantly she was firing at everything. It kind of reminded me of some of her days on the job.

"Do you think Ranger was acting a little strange back there?" I asked after watching for a while.

"Honey, Ranger's always acted strange. I think it's a prerequisite for being Batman."

"True. But do you think he was even more strange than usual."

"I don't know. Maybe." She leveled up as her opponents started morphing into zombies. "Oh man, this is when things really start to heat up." Since I didn't have her undivided attention, I decided to leave Lula to her game and do some surveillance of the arcade. So far there hadn't been any sign of Rocky.

I was just about to make a stop at a vending machine to help pass the time when I had that strange feeling someone was standing behind me.

"Want to split something?" I asked without turning around.

"Babe."

"Somehow I knew you'd say that." I selected a pack of Oreos then turned to face Ranger. I pulled a file from my hand bag and handed it to him. "Here's the guy I'm looking for. He's sneaky and apparently likes to wear disguises."

Ranger did a quick thumb through then handed the file back. "Where's Lula?" he asked.

"Blowing up zombies." He nodded as if that wasn't strange.

"Want to play something?" I gave him a look.

"Sorry, but I never thought you to be the gamer type."

"Looks can be deceiving." I wasn't buying it. "Ok, I haven't played in years, but I'm pretty sure I could still hold my own with some of the retro games." He made his way over to some aged cops and robbers console.

I smiled. "How appropriate. Young Ranger shooting at the bad guys."

The corner of his mouth twitched. "Thought you might appreciate it." He dropped in a couple of quarters and unholstered the gun.

Twenty minutes later Lula walked over. "That's it for me," she said. "Those zombies sure kicked my butt today." Ranger smirked. He was still on the same two quarters he had started with. The robbers were crumpling from his shots left and right.

"Show off," Lula muttered after watching for a moment. "I gotta get me a snack here. You want something, Steph?" I held up my empty Oreos wrapper.

"No thanks."

Ranger continued his firing rampage, but took a moment to glance over at me.

"Bored, babe?"

"Watching you is hardly boring," I said with a subtle smile. He stopped shooting and there were a few grunts as the robbers took the cop down. "You just ended your winning streak."

"Got the high score though." He typed "RCM" next to his astronomically high point tally.

"Well this was a bust," I sighed. "No Rocky."

"No Rocky, but I saw a guy who kind of resembles him over playing Pac Man a few minutes ago."

"How on earth did you manage that? You were entirely focused on the game."

"I'm a multitasker," he said with a grin. "Want me to go get some information out of him?"

"Sure. Go do your thing."

Ranger came back ten minutes later. "The guy doesn't know much more than you do unfortunately, but he did know what Rocky brought in to sell the other day at the pawn shop. I'm thinking we should lay a trap for him. Con the con artist style. Thoughts?"

"Sounds like a plan to me. I guess I'll let you organize the details."

"Thanks for this," he said glancing around. "I had fun."

"Oh yeah, it was a total blast," I said sarcastically.

"Want me to show you my favorite game?"

"Sure. Why not?"

Ranger grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door. We stopped in between the arcade and its neighboring business.

"Your favorite game got moved out here?" I asked looking around.

Ranger's hand slid around my waist pulling me to him, and his lips caught mine. He pushed me up against the wall and cradled my face in his hand. The kisses that started off gentle soon turned more aggressive and passionate. I felt the heat from his lips course through me like a wild, untamed electrical current. My resolve to keep Ranger at a safe distance was quickly melting away.

Eventually he pulled back. Both of us took a moment to catch our breath.

"What was that?" I asked not really sure what else to say.

"My favorite game," he said smiling.

"Good to know." I could hear Lula calling my name from the street. "I should probably catch up with her before she finds us back here."

Ranger caught my arm as I started to leave. "Can I drop by later?"

"Uh…"

"You can let me know what you decide later."

I discreetly made my way out to the arcade entrance. Lula was still looking for me. "Where have _you_ been?" she asked.

"Ranger was just filling me in on some details for the takedown later."

"Uh huh. I'll bet. You have those details written all over your face."

I heard my phone buzz in my hand bag. It was Ben again. "Looking forward to dinner tomorrow. Can't wait to see you." I did a mental groan. Why did men always have to make life so complicated?


	6. Chapter 6

"You look like you're working on something that requires a lot of brain power." Lula said once we were back at the bonds office.

"Sorry, what?"

"You've already chewed through two fingernails sittin' there. I'm startin' to worry what you'll do when you run outta fingers."

I stopped biting my nail. "I've just got some things on my mind," I sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if I should just move. I could pack all my bags, leave everything else behind, and head off into the great unknown to start over from ground zero."

"That sounds fun. Can I tag along?"

"Only if you bring some Tastykakes for the trip," I winked.

"Deal! Where are we headed?"

"Maybe somewhere with sun and sandy beaches." I'd always imagined myself as some beautiful beach goddess. It was usually before I got a good look at myself in the mirror. Big Jersey hair could still be cool in a beach setting, right? I pondered the possible destinations for a moment. "How about California?"

"Never been. Could we visit that cartoony place with the giant rodent?"

"You mean Disneyland?"

"Yeah. Diz-knee. That's gotta be a racket, right?"

"We'll add it to our itinerary," I grinned. Even though I still had a mind full of problems, the conversation with Lula was starting to improve my mood. Having an escape plan was a nice possibility even if I was never really going to use it.

All the talk about California was starting to give me an idea. Maybe all I really needed was a vacation. A chance to get away from the stale Jersey air and all the daily chaos and catastrophe that was currently my life. Too bad I'd have to put the idea on hold until there was more than pizza money in my bank account. I decided Rocky was going to be my plane ticket out of here. Hopefully Ranger would come through for me on that one. Speaking of Ranger… I still had a decision to make.

I knew letting him come over later was probably a bad idea. He hadn't exactly been subtle lately in what he was after. But I had to admit, the special request was proving difficult to turn down. I needed an excuse. A good one.

"What are you doing tonight?" I asked Lula.

She glanced up from a magazine she'd started reading. "Just the usual."

"Wanna hit the bar with me?"

Connie looked up from painting her nails. "You two planning some shenanigans this evening?"

Lula started getting all excited. Almost to the point of jumping up and down like a kid, which I politely asked her to keep under wraps because with her girls bouncing around like that, I was worried she might hurt herself.

"I got me the perfect outfit for ladies' night. In fact, I may have to head home right now to make sure I've got enough time to get myself all ready."

I glanced at my watch. "It's only the middle of the afternoon."

"This," she said pointing to her face. "Don't just happen. It's practically art. Plus, I need me some beauty sleep if I'm gonna be out all night." She headed for the door and turned back. "You comin' too?" she asked Connie.

She pretended not to be too interested, but I saw a flash of excitement in her eyes. "Sure. What the hell."

"Then it's a date. Wanna meet here at eight?" Connie and I both nodded.

"Perfect." She was just about out the door again when it looked like she had another idea. "Hey Steph, you think you could get Batman to loan you one of his flashy sports cars? With our bar attire and a badass tripped out car, we'd really be the shit."

I thought about it for a moment. At this point, I probably _could_ get Ranger to loan me a vehicle. Especially if I asked nicely. But it wasn't the asking I was worried about. It was the payment. I'd orchestrated this whole evening in an effort to avoid him, so it would probably be counterproductive to be in his debt.

"Considering my track record with cars, I don't think he'd be too keen on the idea," I said.

Lula frowned. "Good point. Oh well. See you guys later then?" We nodded as Lula headed out the door.

I pulled out my phone to text Ranger. "Sorry. Can't meet up tonight. Hanging with the girls. We're celebrating."

Connie eyed me suspiciously. "It's unusual for you to do the whole bar scene midweek. Or ever really. You avoiding something? Or _someone_?"

"Just needing a break from everything," I said casually. It was mostly true.

"Uh huh." She obviously wasn't buying it.

My phone buzzed. "What are you celebrating?" Crud. Ranger would know if I'd brought in Rocky. Or any skip for that matter. I glanced over at Connie and got an idea.

"Connie's gonna be an aunt again," I texted back. It seemed like every time I turned around Connie was going to some family-related bridal or baby shower. She probably _was_ going to be an aunt again, and Ranger probably wouldn't care enough to do the research.

My phone buzzed. "You avoiding me?" Apparently Ranger wasn't buying my lies today either.

"Never. Just needed a night out." Maybe I should've started with that. It would've been much less messy than all the lies.

"Next time you need a night out, let me know. I'll make sure it's unforgettable." I swallowed hard and blushed simultaneously. Hopefully Connie hadn't noticed.

I texted back "good to know" then promptly shut my phone off. I didn't need any examples right now of how Ranger could make a night out unforgettable.

"I think I'm going to make a few more stops to do some snooping on Rocky's whereabouts. See you at eight?" Connie nodded as I headed out the door.

My additional stops resulted in exactly zero new leads on Rocky. I kind of figured as much. This guy was proving harder to track than Ranger. And that was really saying something.

Eventually, I headed home to prep for my evening out. After a long, luxurious shower, I shimmied my way into my swirly red dress and strapped on some scandalous heels. I glanced in the mirror. Wowza! Good thing it was just going to be the girls tonight. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have even stood a chance at making it out of the apartment.

I spritzed on a dab of perfume and added a final round of hairspray before grabbing my clutch and heading out the door. Connie and Lula were chatting outside the bonds office when I pulled up. Lula was sporting a lace-up corset top that looked to be dangerously close to losing its structural integrity and a bright red skirt that covered about a centimeter over what might be classified as indecent exposure. Her heels looked like they could be used as a weapon if necessary. It was classic night-on-the-town Lula attire.

Connie looked much less over-the-top with a sassy yet simple black dress. But it still had a deep plunging neck line that showed off enough cleavage to make any woman jealous. Her shoes were much less lethal than Lula's, but they definitely accentuated her toned legs and backside. Overall I'd say we all looked pretty darn hot and tempting. I guess I didn't really need to be considering I had a date already lined up for the following evening, but maybe it could get me a free drink or two.

We chatted over a couple girlie drinks at the first bar; by the third, I was worried I was about to start dancing on table tops. I left Lula chatting with some pudgy tattooed guy who looked slightly smarter than a paperweight. Connie had bumped into some former classmates from high school and had disappeared with them about a half an hour ago. I decided to hail a cab to take me home.

On the drive back, I closed my eyes and leaned back in the seat. I was feeling really drowsy and slightly dizzy. Maybe I'd overdone it a little with the alcohol. The car came to a stop and I carefully climbed out from the back. I gave the driver some cash and watched in a semi-drunken daze as he drove away.

I turned around and frowned. Crap. I'd apparently given the cab driver the wrong address. The brick building in front of me wasn't my apartment building. It was the seven-story nondescript fortress that was home to an elite security firm known as Rangeman. Apparently my subconscious had some ideas to further the late-night fun.

My mental energies were running low, so I waved to the security camera and started making my way up to the apartment on the seventh floor. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was getting those flashing warning lights that this probably wasn't the best of ideas, but I still needed a ride home or a place to crash. Surely Ranger wouldn't mind. Hopefully.

I knocked on the door. Ranger opened it rubbing his eyes. He was only wearing his black cargo pants. My lucky night.

"Pizza delivery," I smirked with a goofy giggle. I took a step forward, but my clumsy feet got all tangled up, and I fell right into him. He caught me and I glanced up.

" _Babe_ ," I said in a mock deep voice imitating Ranger. I started laughing. He just stared at me like I was nuts.

"To what do I owe this random late-night visit?" he asked once I'd calmed down a little.

I stumbled over to his couch and flopped onto it in a heap. The room started spinning, and for a brief moment I panicked, wondering if I was about to repeat the events of last night. I rubbed my head and moaned.

"I'm such an idiot," I muttered as I closed my eyes. The swirling black was almost worse than the swirling room. Ranger brought over a glass of water.

"We all do dumb things from time to time. Doesn't necessarily make you an idiot." He took a seat next to me. I took a sip of the water.

"Sorry about the intrusion. There was a mix-up with my cab ride home."

"Apparently." He was watching me, waiting for the rest of the explanation. I didn't think it was a great time to share what my subconscious was hoping for. "Want me to take you home?" he asked after a moment.

"No, that's ok. I feel terrible that I woke you up in the first place. I can just go sleep on the floor in your Rangeman office or something."

He raised an eyebrow. "Or you could just sleep here." My subconscious was jumping for joy and giving me a naughty list of how I might want to spend my time in Ranger's apartment. I brushed the thoughts away.

"If you really don't mind, I guess I could crash on the couch."

"It's not the best for sleeping."

"Better than a park bench."

He shook his head. "Can't convince you to share the bed, huh?"

"I don't think it's a good idea. I," I stopped and debated finishing the thought. "I have another date tomorrow."

"I see." He got up to go grab some blankets and a pillow. I knew this was a bad idea. "Here," he said tossing the linens over to me. He paused before heading back to his bedroom. "Goodnight," he added quietly.

I pulled the blankets over my head in a bit of a huff. Apparently my mind was playing tricks on me. My subconscious obviously still wanted something with Ranger, but my logical side was trying to tell me to keep my distance. I knew I'd already decided I was ready for more than an occasional booty call or even a temporary fling, and the last I knew the rules to our relationship hadn't changed. Evidently my subconscious didn't get the memo that it was time to move on.

It probably would have been a lot easier if Ranger wasn't currently sending the "I want you bad" vibe. Since he'd been back from his trip, it almost felt like he was stalking me. Normally I wouldn't mind being stalked, especially if it was by Ranger, but it was the after-I'd-been-caught bit that had me worried. The parting of ways that always inevitably took place was beginning to be too much for me. If we could just agree to be friends and leave all that other stuff out of the equation then maybe I could handle having Ranger in my life. If not… Well, I didn't really want to think about the other alternative.

After tossing and turning with my thoughts on the couch, I finally decided there was really only one thing for me to do. I needed to have a little chat with Ranger, the sooner probably the better. And that chat would probably be safest through plate glass. Or at least in a public place. Ranger's conversations tended to be more on the physical side when it was just the two of us, which was precisely the situation I was trying to avoid.

I decided to make an early departure in the morning to avoid the inevitable awkwardness my presence would cause. I set the alarm on my phone and tried to convince myself that Ranger was wrong about the comfortable sleep potential of the couch. Of course Ranger was hardly ever wrong about anything, and unfortunately for me, this included his assessment of the couch.

I woke up the next morning with a splitting headache. And a warm body next to me. Wait…what? I was in a bed rather than on the couch, and an arm was draped over me. I carefully turned myself over.

"Hey," Ranger said without opening his eyes.

" _Clever avoidance tactic,_ " I thought. "Care to explain how I ended up in your bed?"

"Miracles happen?" he said with a twitch of a smile.

I gasped and glanced down. Oh good. At least I was still wearing clothes. Well, kind of. This dress didn't exactly cover a whole a lot of me.

"Try again."

"I heard a thud last night. Went out to check on things and you were on the floor. I told you that couch wasn't very comfortable for sleeping."

Considering the crick in my neck, I was almost buying the story. I eyed him suspiciously. "So you brought me back here. And nothing happened?"

"You sound disappointed." He was inching himself closer to me while simultaneously dragging his fingertips up my thigh. The real disappointment would be if something _did_ happen and I didn't remember it.

I grabbed his hand. "Not an inch higher, cowboy, or I'll…"

"Beg me to continue?" he interrupted. Ugh! He was apparently reading my mind.

"Listen," I sighed. "I can't do this."

Ranger frowned. "You sound unusually confident in that response."

"I am." Mostly. Kind of. As long as that hand stays right where it is. "I can't be your whenever-you-feel-like-it girl anymore. In fact, it might be better for the both of us if we were, you know, just friends."

"Friends."

"Yeah. You know? Friends. You could think of me like just one of the guys."

"Babe, I could _never_ think of you as just one of the guys."

"Well, fine. You can think of me as a girl just without all that extra physical stuff."

"But you like all that extra physical stuff."

"I just can't anymore. Can't we just be friends?"

He sighed. "If that's really what you want."

I thought about it for a moment. Did I really just want to be friends with Ranger? Probably not. But at this point, it was a last ditch effort at some form of self-preservation.

"I should probably get going," I said slipping out from under the covers.

"Me too. I should've been downstairs an hour ago." The fact that Ranger was knowingly late to work took me by surprise. This whole morning coupled with the late-night invasion was starting to make me feel really terrible. I needed to get out of his apartment as soon as humanly possible.

I readjusted my dress and started heading for the door. "I'll see you later then?" I said.

Ranger raised an eyebrow. "How'd you plan on getting home?" Hmmm…good question. Ranger tossed me a set of car keys from the counter.

"I can't," I started.

"It's what you do for friends." He turned and walked back towards the bedroom.

Cool. Ranger and I were friends. And I had a date with Ben later. Since the day was shaping up to be much better than I initially thought possible, I was a little bummed my subconscious was still giving me crap. Maybe if I thunked my head long enough on the steering wheel of Ranger's loaner vehicle, it would magically shut off.


	7. Chapter 7

I met Ben later that evening in kind of a funk. I'd miraculously made an apprehension earlier that day and now had a few extra bucks in my pocket, but as much as I hated to admit it, Rocky was really starting to get under my skin. He'd left me yet another note on my windshield, which made me mad for two reasons. First, I was mad that he always seemed to know where I was. And second, I was mad at the message he'd left: "Thought you were supposed to be good at this."

I'm not sure where he'd acquired this information, but I was pretty sure it was common knowledge that I was terrible at what I did for a living. Unusually lucky, yes. But good? Hardly. The evidence was staring him right in the face. If I was even remotely good at this bounty hunting gig, I would have already found him and dragged his sorry butt back to jail by now. Unfortunately for Rocky, he was really starting to piss me off, and once my fiery temper really got going, results happened. Maybe not always good results, but results nonetheless.

Ben was watching me silently fume from across the table. He'd upped the ante on our second date by taking me to a fine dining, gourmet restaurant. It was less noisy than the diner and a lot more intimate. I was starting to feel bad that my sour mood might be ruining the atmosphere.

"You ok?" Ben asked after we'd ordered.

I may have snapped at the waiter when he insisted I simply had to try their risotto when it was more than a little obvious that all I wanted was a loaded baked potato. He was being too insistent and pushy, and I may have given him the Burg glare of death. He probably didn't deserve it.

I dropped my face in my hands. "Sorry. Work's been a little rough lately. If you want to just call it a night, I completely understand."

Normally I'd expect a guy given an out on a date from you-know-where to bolt out the door without even a backward glance. But Ben just reached across the table and took my hand.

"I think I'll brave the storm. Maybe I can help cheer you up." The compassionate gesture made me feel like crying. Maybe I was being a little hormonal.

Despite the rough start, the date morphed into a mostly positive experience. Everything save for the very end. It had been raining off and on all day, and I could sense something bad about to happen even before I made it out to the parking lot. Ben and I had already parted ways, so I trudged to my car, practically drenched by the time I slipped inside. I cranked the key, and grimaced when it started clicking instead of emitting the rumbling groan that signaled the engine turning over. Perfect.

I hopped out of the car and peered under the hood. Being that I'm no auto mechanic, nothing really seemed wrong to me. Then again, nothing seemed right either. I tampered with a few doohickeys and whispered a prayer before trying to start the car again. No luck. The thing was on its last leg anyway. I decided to call Ben.

"Mind giving me a lift home tonight?" I asked. There was a moment of silence, and I couldn't tell if he was feeling amused or inconvenienced.

"Where are you parked?" he asked.

"Near the back of the lot. Just look for the giant drenched mud clod next to a rusted, rotting POS."

Ben's flashy sports car pulled in behind mine a few minutes later. He got out and glanced at the car.

"Having trouble getting it started?"

I shook my head. "It's been thinking about dying for the better part of two weeks. Guess the useless piece of junk thought it would stick it to me by crapping out on date night."

Ben shook his head with a slight grin. "You need a car? I've got one you could borrow if you want."

"That's ok," I sighed. "There's an ancient blue Buick with my name already on it."

Ben opened the passenger door of his red sports car for me. The interior was sleek, sexy black leather. I looked over at Ben.

"Do you have something for me to sit on? Like maybe a plastic bag. I'm afraid I might ruin the upholstery."

Ben picked me up and plunked me down on the seat. His face was really close to mine, and I panicked for a second wondering if I should be anticipating another kiss like before. But the kiss didn't happen.

"I know a guy who does detailing if it gets too messy," he winked at me as he slid in the driver's door. "Other than asking where you live, I just have one question for you." I raised an eyebrow. "Do you like fast cars?"

He peeled out from behind my car and gunned the engine as we took off toward my apartment. Lucky for Ben, I definitely had a thing for fast cars. And maybe even the men who drive them.

We pulled into the lot behind my apartment complex and sat in some awkward silence as I debated about inviting him up. I'd seriously only known the guy a few days, and I definitely didn't want to send the "too easy" vibe, but I also felt like I owed him for cheering me up and saving me from a late-night bus ride. It didn't necessarily have to be an invitation for physical activities. We could just enjoy a couple of beers while watching some trashy movie on TV. Just a friendly extension of the date, right?

"So," I started casually. "Wanna come up for a minute or two?"

In the shadowy darkness, I couldn't quite make out the expression on Ben's face. But it didn't take him long to respond.

"Sure," he said.

We took the elevator to the second floor, and I tried to ignore the squishy soggy feeling of my soaked clothing clinging to my body. I unlocked my door and flipped on a few lights. Rex was buried in his can, already tucked in for the night. I glanced at the remainder of the apartment. Thankfully it wasn't too much of a mess since I hadn't exactly planned on having company.

I excused myself to the bathroom and stifled a scream when I caught a glance of myself in the mirror. A filthy, near-drowned rat stared back at me. A rat with explosive hair. Of course, the only real cure for this was a shower, but I wasn't sure what to do about Ben.

I poked my head out of the bathroom. "Hey Ben," I called. "I'm going to take a really quick shower. Feel free to make yourself at home." I didn't hear any response, so I decided to proceed with my plan.

After I shut the door, I quickly turned the water on and peeled off the wet clothes. I tossed them in a sopping pile, adjusted the water temp then promptly stubbed my toe trying to step in the shower. I stifled some cursing as I attempted to conduct the world's fastest shower.

There's a reason I don't do fast showers. And that reason has to do with my complete inability to multitask. My hands were all slick and sudsy from my body wash when I went to grab my shampoo bottle, and I dropped the stupid thing right on my foot. I yelped and started hopping around like a dork, which is of course right about the time that I slipped and fell. I was too wrapped up in my own embarrassment and misery to notice the shadowy presence on the other side of my shower curtain.

The curtain moved back slightly, and I gave a sharp squeak of surprise.

"Are you ok in here?" It was Ben.

I just stood staring at him in a startled daze not even taking into consideration that I was completely naked.

"Uh…"

"Sorry to startle you. I heard some banging around from the living room and wanted to make sure you were ok."

His dark hair was still damp from the rain, and his skin was starting to glisten from the steam in the bathroom. His shirt was untucked and partially unbuttoned and his tie was hanging over his shoulders. He was looking pretty darn attractive.

"I'm fine," I blurted. "Just slipped after dropping the shampoo bottle on my foot."

Ben started pulling his shirt over his head. He kicked off his shoes and unzipped his pants.

"Umm…what exactly are you doing?"

He gave me a small seductive grin as he hopped in the shower with me. "Thought I should make sure you didn't have any serious injuries."

"Oh," was all I could manage in response.

He pulled me closer to him and slowly slid his hands along all my curves and edges. My knees nearly buckled.

"Doesn't seem like anything's broken." I was giving Ben a little physical assessment of my own. Didn't look like anything was broken on him either.

"That's a relief."

"But I'm afraid I may need to write you a prescription."

"Oh? What for?"

He pinned me up against the shower wall and kissed me. "The best cure for anything," he whispered in my ear. Oh boy.

The next morning I woke up relaxed and incredibly comfortable. Ben had his arms wrapped around me, and I was enjoying listening to his deep breathing pattern. There was a brief moment when I almost felt guilty about the events that had transpired the night before, but I decided to push it away to deal with later. I was determined to enjoy this moment whether my guilt thought I should or not.

Ben opened his eyes and smiled. "Good morning, beautiful." He brushed some curls away from my face and leaned over to kiss me. "That was some date last night. Want to repeat it again tonight?" I looked at him and considered my response. I really wanted to go out with him again, and later that evening wasn't really even sounding too soon anymore, but I was also worried that we were probably rushing into things. I decided to take a big gamble and see what happened.

"Ben, I've really been enjoying our time together, but I think I might need a little time to process everything. You know, slow things down a little." I waited for him to show some subtle signs of frustration or at the very least annoyance, but his expression didn't seem to change.

"What are we talking here? A few days? A month?"

"Let's split the difference and say a couple weeks."

He reached over to the bed stand for his phone.

"What are you doing?" I asked. Deleting my number? Reminding yourself to dump me by text later?

"Setting a reminder on my calendar. Although I doubt I'll really need one."

"A reminder?"

"Yeah. See? Two weeks from today I'll call you for another date. Fair enough?"

I was fighting hard not to smile too much. Hopefully Ben really would call me in two weeks because I was really starting to fall for the guy. He was unlike anyone I'd ever met before.

We both got up and had a quick breakfast of coffee and toast before Ben had to head out for work. He kissed me goodbye and said he'd relive the two dates we'd had over and over until the two weeks were up. I knew I'd probably be doing the same.

I hopped in the shower and threw on some clothes before making a mental game plan for the day. There wasn't much going on, so I decided to head over to the bonds office to scope out the skip situation. Except I was kind of forgetting the fact that I didn't currently have a car. As I was debating my options, my door suddenly opened. Ranger walked in with two coffees and a bag from the Tasty Pastry.

"Hungry?" he asked.

I raised an eyebrow. Thank goodness Ben had already left for work. The awkwardness levels always seemed to be in direct proportion to the levels of testosterone hanging around my apartment.

"What brings you by this morning?" I asked trying to play it cool and casual.

"Did some digging on Rocky. I think I've got enough info on him to get the con rolling. Want to resume the mission a week from today?"

I stood for a moment dumbstruck. Ranger had more resources at his disposal than I did, but it was still impressive how efficiently he could move on bringing someone in. He never wasted any time, and he still made me feel like an amateur. Not in a bad way. Just in a way that reminded me that he was still at the top of his game.

"Sounds like a plan to me."

"I've got some business to take care of today. I'll be back to wrap this up in a week then. Catcha later, babe."

He grabbed his coffee and headed for the door.

"Didn't you want any of the…" The door closed before I had a chance to finish the thought. More donuts for me, I guess.

As arranged, Ranger magically appeared in my living room exactly one week later. Again he arrived with two coffees and a bag of donuts. The man knew me so well.

Ranger handed me one of the coffees and set the donut bag on the counter. Eventually my curiosity got the better of me, and I opened it a crack to see what assortment was hiding inside. It really didn't matter. I'd never met a donut that I didn't like. The intoxicatingly sweet aroma wafted through the room. Yum!

"You seem to be in a good mood this morning," Ranger said as I stood debating about eating just one donut or the whole bag.

"Hard to be in a bad mood when someone brings you donuts," I replied with a smile.

His mouth twitched a little in response. He leaned up against the kitchen counter as I polished off a first then a second donut. I grabbed my shoulder bag and shoved a few odds and ends inside.

"I'm ready when you are," I said heading for the door.

Ranger's hand caught my wrist spinning me around to face him. He leaned toward me, and my stomach did a flip-flop. He traced a finger along my lower lip then popped it in his mouth. My heart was beating so rapidly, I thought I was going to pass out.

"You had some icing on your face," he said. His eyes were dark and a little mischievous, and I was so distracted by the heat radiating from his body that I hardly noticed when he took a step back.

"Ready to go?"

Oh, I was ready alright. Ready to take back every stupid thing I'd ever said about just being friends. I watched Ranger walk out the door ahead of me and did a mental sigh. I had exactly one week to get my priorities straightened out. How was it that seven days could seem too long and too short all at the same time?


	8. Chapter 8

"So what's the plan?" I asked as we hopped into Ranger's Porsche. Ranger pulled out of my parking lot and into traffic.

"I know a guy who owes me a favor. I'm borrowing some of his merchandise to entice your friend, Rocky."

I raised an eyebrow. "What kind of merchandise are we talking here?"

"Something that's not going to be on display in a pawn shop. Let's just say I have a feeling the dealer on 10th might be running a small side business as a go-between for some less-than-reputable entrepreneurs."

I shifted in my seat. "Should I be concerned about any of this? Am I going to wind up in prison?"

Ranger looked over at me and twitched a small smile. "I'll take the wrap for this one if things go south. But everything should be fairly straight forward," he added. "Rocky will take the bait, we'll make the capture, and you can make rent for another month or two."

"I already have rent money for this month actually," I said a little indignantly. It was all the months that followed that were kind of in the gray area. "I have some different plans for my Rocky funds."

"Yeah?" Ranger asked curiously. "Purchasing another vehicle?"

How did he always know about my car problems?

"Something wrong?"

I shook my head. "Well I _had_ other plans for my take-down money. Up until last week. Another Stephanie Plum car bit the dust."

Ranger raised an eyebrow. "Should I be worried about that?" Maybe he didn't know about my recent car troubles.

"No. This one died of natural causes. The stupid thing wouldn't start. The guy at the shop said it was a lost cause. Been bumming rides off of Connie and Lula lately."

Ranger gave me a look but didn't say anything else on the matter. Eventually we pulled into a neighborhood and parked along the curb.

"What are we doing here?" I asked glancing around.

"Waiting for Rocky to surface." Ranger unhooked his seat belt and reclined his seat a little.

"This looks a little too domestic and residential for his taste." From what I'd gathered, the guy was a professional bum. He slept, ate, and breathed life on the streets.

"Not exactly what you'd expect, right?" Ranger pointed to a house across the way. "The Wankowskis left on a cruise last weekend, and rumor has it that Mr. Wankowski has a safe with some interesting collectables."

I rolled my eyes. "Wonder who could have started _those_ rumors." Ranger grinned. "What was really in his safe?"

"Just a few valuables and a stash of cash from a big win in Atlantic City."

"You broke into his home _and_ his safe to stage this whole thing?"

"It's not quite as bad as it sounds. Mr. Wankowski is a Rangeman client. We're keeping a really close eye on everything. Besides, the extra security measures are more for his electronics and software, which we've already moved to a safe location until this sting operation is over. The house will probably be in better condition when we're through than when we started."

"Except a creepy thief will have broken in to steal their stuff." Having an intruder of any kind was no matter to take lightly. And I would know.

"Yeah, except for that. The stuff in the safe's not really theirs though. The house is more of a prop. We're setting the stage."

I raised an eyebrow. "For some strange reason I didn't imagine you as someone who'd get all wrapped up in theatrics."

Ranger's expression turned a bit more serious. "I've got a theory about Rocky, and if my theory's correct, I think we're going to need all the extra theatrical help we can get. I'm pretty sure Rocky's a professional."

I took a moment to ponder the idea. Rocky was obviously a skilled thief, but I had a hard time picturing him as a professional anything. He was homeless and a well-known face among the street communities.

"You're kidding, right?"

Ranger shook his head. "He might have fallen on some hard times or maybe he got mixed up with the wrong people. My guess is that he was double-crossed. Probably by someone who wanted his resources restricted. May be how he got caught in the first place."

I was still having a little trouble imagining it, but the possibility wasn't exactly unfathomable. Heck, he'd done a pretty decent job passing for an older man. Maybe Rocky as a professional con artist wasn't that big of a stretch after all.

"From what I've gleaned from my sources," Ranger continued. "This guy definitely knows what he's doing."

It actually made me feel a little better about not being able to bring him in on my own. I'd been dealing with someone who outsmarted the authorities as a profession. A funny thought crossed my mind, but I decided to put it on the back burner for now until I had more time for processing.

"How sure are you that he'll make his move today?" I asked.

"It's trash collection day. There's going to be some commotion with the trucks. I figured he'd want to use it to his advantage as a distraction. It's what I'd do anyway." Ranger's innate ability to use a situation to his advantage was pretty cool. And maybe a little scary. Probably a good thing for the world that he decided to use his talents for good rather than evil.

I looked across the street. It seemed like most people had already left for work or whatever activities they had planned for the day. Everything looked motionless and dead.

"So what now?" I asked afraid I already knew the answer.

"We wait."

Oh good. Sitting and waiting while doing absolutely nothing was my favorite activity. Especially when it involved a slippery skip who was making my life miserable. At least the company wasn't so bad.

I watched Ranger slip into his combat surveillance mode. His breathing slowed, his heartrate slowed, and his body went completely still. If his eyes were closed, he could probably pass for a pretty convincing cadaver.

My body had never fully mastered the art of being that still. Except maybe following the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at my parents' house. Mostly I kept myself in a constant state of motion, which made boring stakeouts like this practically torture.

I started counting the windows on the houses. Then I moved on to counting the roof shingles. I thought about counting the blades of grass along the sidewalk but decided to pretend I could make out goofy shapes in the clouds instead. After what felt like an hour of my keeping-busy activities, I decided to glance at the clock on my phone. Only five minutes had gone by!

Since I had all this extra time on my hands, I decided to be a little more productive and deleted all the old text messages that were probably clogging up my in-box. Then I moved on to pictures. After flipping through most of them, I came to the conclusion that I really wasn't much of a phone photographer.

Another ten minutes passed, and I could feel some pent-up energy start to rumble near the surface. I started silently counting. Maybe I could make it to a million before actually losing my mind. I was almost to five hundred when my foot started tapping involuntarily.

Ranger glanced over at me. "Feeling antsy, babe?"

I sighed and stopped the mental count at six hundred fifty. "Can I step outside to stretch my legs? I think I could use some fresh air."

He gave me a look. "You might blow our cover."

It was a valid point. Guess it was time for more counting and foot-tapping. I couldn't remember where I'd left off, so I decided to start over. Ranger let out a small breath that carried a subtle hint of annoyance. He put his hand on my knee to stop the foot-tapping.

"You never finished telling me what you were planning on using the money for," he said. "Before the car trouble." It was an obvious attempt at distraction, but I welcomed it nonetheless.

"I was starting to plan a vacation."

Ranger's attention was still focused on the house, but I could tell he was genuinely listening.

"Where to?"

I hesitated with my response hoping it didn't sound too stupid. "Somewhere with some sun, sand, and crystal blue waters."

A wolfish grin spread across Ranger's face. "Planning a return trip to Hawaii?"

I felt my face flush. Ranger and I had been on a working trip to Hawaii before. Except it had somehow morphed into more play than work. At least up until the point when Morelli showed up to surprise me. What followed was nothing short of an apocalyptic disaster. The level of awkwardness back home was astronomically high for some time, and I had absolutely no desire for a repeat experience.

"I was thinking more along the lines of California, or if it's not too out of my price range maybe one of the islands in the Caribbean."

Ranger snuck a glance my direction. "Tell you what, regardless of what happens with Rocky, when this is all over, I'll take you on a vacation. One week anywhere you want to go."

I gave him a look. "You can afford to be gone from Rangeman for an entire week?"

Ranger shrugged. "I'm sure I could manage something."

I didn't really know what to do with the offer. Who would be dumb enough to turn down a free vacation? Someone avoiding potential heartbreak. Or someone plagued by an overabundance of guilt. Both of those someones just so happened to be me. Still, the offer was way too tantalizing to not at least consider.

My mind started running with the thought of sprawling on a sandy beach. I could almost feel the sun warming my skin. Then I shifted mental gears to beach attire. The gear shift stalled at the idea of Ranger in swim trunks. I licked my lips to make sure I hadn't been drooling.

"Everything ok over there?" Ranger asked. "You were making noises."

"Sorry. The donuts must not be sitting very well."

Ranger's mouth twitched. He started to say something but was suddenly interrupted by his phone ringing. His facial expression grew serious and even darkened a little before the call ended.

"Is there a problem?" I asked.

"The tracker we planted on the stuff in the safe is in motion. Somehow we missed Rocky."

I glanced over at the house. There hadn't been any sign of activity the entire time we'd been in the car. No motion sensors triggered. Nothing.

"How?"

"Good question. Tank's going to text me the coordinates from the signal. With any luck, they'll lead us to Rocky."

I was starting to get one of those classic bad feelings about all of this. After a few additional moments of silence, Ranger's phone buzzed with the coordinates from the trackers. We took off down the road, but it didn't take either of us very long to realize where we were headed. Ranger's expression grew even darker.

"The signal's coming from your apartment building," he said. I frowned. I had a pretty good idea where the signal was probably originating from.

Sure enough. We made it up to my apartment on the second floor, and the lock was busted. I had a moment of panic when I considered the safety of my hamster, Rex. Ranger slowly pushed the door open, and I raced to his habitat to check on him. Two sleepy eyes glanced up at me from his soup can, and I let out a small sigh of relief.

"Rex is ok," I called.

Ranger was looking at something on the kitchen counter. He didn't look too happy. I came and stood next to him to get a better look. There were two small electronic gizmos sitting next to a note.

"Clever. Thanks for the priceless pieces. Until next time, Plum," it said.

Ranger muttered a few inaudible expletives before regaining his composure. "I'm not sure it's safe for you to stay here right now," he said. "This guy apparently knows where you live."

"He doesn't seem interested in doing me any serious harm at this point. I think I'll be ok."

"At least let me have the guys drop by to install a few new locks. Maybe a panic room."

I sighed. "Yes to the new locks. No to the panic room. You worry too much. This guy's probably harmless. He just likes to play stupid games." Frustrating and irritating games. Games that made me want to shoot raging laser beams from my eyes.

"And I may have to take back my offer for the vacation."

"Oh?"

"I figure I've got around forty-eight hours to get back what was in the safe."

"Or what?"

"Or I'm going to be out a shitload of money."

I wasn't sure I really wanted to know, but I decided to ask the question anyway. "What exactly was in the safe?"

"Some forgeries." He said it so casually like he dealt with this sort of thing on a daily basis. Who knows? Maybe he did.

"You'd owe money on something that's a fake?" I asked incredulously.

"They were state of the art. Very nearly undetectable. Altogether they probably would have gone for around a quarter of a million dollars."

I choked on a swallow of spit. "A quarter of a million dollars? You took a gamble on a quarter of a million dollars?"

"A mistake I won't be repeating, I can assure you," he frowned. No kidding.


	9. Chapter 9

"Where do we go from here?" I asked after Ranger finished making a few calls.

"I need to get back to Rangeman. The clock's ticking, and I'm waiting to hear back from a few people before we can move forward." Although Ranger's face remained void of emotion, I could sense some of it simmering just below the surface.

"You know this isn't your fault, right?" He was leaning over the kitchen counter still staring at the note. I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah? Whose fault is it? Yours?" The response was a little harsh, but I knew where it was stemming from. A failed mission was never acceptable for this soldier. It was probably even worse because of the blatant outsmarting and taunting. Still, even amidst this setback, I could see his mental gears shifting into overdrive. He was already starting to move forward.

"Sometimes things don't go according to plan," I said. "We'll get Rocky. Want me to head back to Rangeman with you and help brainstorm some ideas?"

"It couldn't hurt," he said as he gathered up the tracking devices and note from the counter. "I was going to see if you wanted to borrow a fleet car anyway."

"You don't have to do that. I can just drive the Buick around for a while."

Ranger gave me a look. "Babe."

"What? You just loaned me a car to get home last week. After letting me crash at your place. I'd hate for you to think I was taking advantage of our friendship."

"Would it make you feel better if you paid me for it?" he asked as we headed out the door.

"Kind of. But I'm a little low on cash right now."

"Maybe we could figure out a barter system." I couldn't see Ranger's expression because he was already two strides down the hall ahead of me. But I was almost positive from the tone of voice that he was probably sporting a very familiar wolfish grin.

After a quick stop for some fast food for me and a bottle of water for Ranger, we pulled into the Rangeman garage. We took the elevator in silence, and I started to wonder just how serious Ranger had been about the whole barter system payment thing. My assumption was that he was just about as serious as he always was about anything concerning the two of us. Which basically meant it was anyone's guess. Anyone except for Ranger that is.

"Didn't you want to swing by your office?" I asked as we continued up past the Rangeman floor. I felt a small trickle of panic slide rapidly through my chest and settle somewhere in the pit of my stomach. We were apparently going straight to Ranger's apartment.

"I've got a laptop upstairs. Besides, I can focus better without all the work commotion on the floor. You're still up for brainstorming, right?"

I really did want to help. Especially since Rocky had kinda been my problem in the first place. But for some reason I'd assumed we'd be brainstorming in a much less "alone" setting. Like in an office surrounded by half a dozen other employees. Because I may have let my inappropriate Ranger thoughts run rampant for a little longer than I should have. It had started with the whole Ranger vacation idea, simmered with the Ranger in swim trunks thought, and practically erupted in flames by the time the whole bartering system suggestion came into play.

I took a deep breath. Maybe the venue wouldn't be a big deal. I could handle myself, right? We were friends. And friends didn't just hop into bed together at the drop of a hat. Yeah, except whoever came up with the idea of "just being friends" had obviously never met Ranger before. I let out a heavy sigh.

"Everything ok?" Ranger asked as we stepped out of the elevator. I suddenly snapped out of my deep-thinking trance.

"Yep. Peachy keen." Ranger gave me a look like he wasn't buying my baloney. Funny. I wasn't really buying it either.

I took a seat on his couch as he went to grab the computer. My foot was tapping involuntarily again, but this time I had a feeling it had nothing to do with boredom. I sat on my hands before realizing it wouldn't do anything for my antsy foot problem.

Ranger reappeared and hopped over the couch like a kid landing only centimeters away from me. My initial thought was to scoot myself away to establish a safer distance between us, but what would be the point? I'd be leaning over his shoulder in a matter of moments anyway. Working in such close proximity was going to be a real problem.

The computer booted up on the coffee table while I tried to recalibrate my thought process. Almost every other thought was landing on those damn swim trunks! Ok, it was actually landing on the mental removal of those swim trunks. Regardless, I was rapidly losing my ability to focus. Why did he always have to smell so good? _And_ look like dessert?

Ranger glanced over at me. "You must be working on a really great plan. Those mental gears seem to be grinding hard." Oh gosh! Grinding. I could feel myself start to hyperventilate. I needed to get myself out of the Ranger danger zone, and I needed to do it _now_. Except my legs wouldn't budge. I smiled over at him nervously and tried not to panic.

"Babe, you look like you just swallowed a habanero and can't find a glass of water." Apparently that's what sheer panic looked like.

"Good. I'm good," I managed to blurt out. Ranger reached over and pat my knee. It was probably harmless. Maybe even something similar to the old knee-pats I'd get from my dad as a kid. But my engine had been revving so high, that the knee pat was more like a checkered flag waving wildly in front of me at the Grand Prix.

I swung my leg over his hips, wrapped my fingers in his shirt, and kissed him so seductively, I was even a little surprised. The kiss kind of snapped me out of my momentary Ranger obsession, but it did the complete opposite for him. His arms almost instantaneously tightened around me as his hands slid under my shirt; his skilled fingers igniting my skin with a passionate heat that oozed like lava throughout my entire body.

He slid the shirt seductively over my head then flipped me onto my back on the couch. His deliciously dark eyes never left mine as he brushed a few stray curls away from my face before covering it in soft kisses. It felt like he was savoring all of this, savoring me. Every movement, every touch was slow and sensuous.

I felt something vibrate against my thigh, and I gave an involuntary moan. Ranger's mouth twitched into the smallest of smiles.

"That wasn't me, babe," he said reaching into his pocket. He pulled out his phone. "Sorry, I really should get this."

I reached my arms around his neck and pulled him back on top of me, kissing his neck and shoulder. He seemed to enjoy the distraction for a moment before eventually rolling off of me.

"Just…don't move," he said after a sigh. He dialed the number back and walked down the hall. A beat later he reappeared, fully clothed. This didn't look very promising.

"I've gotta head downstairs for a moment," he frowned. I sighed and fell back against the couch pillow. "I promise I won't be very long. And I also promise I _will_ make it up to you. Even if it takes the rest of the day…and night." The seductive grin was hard to miss. As was the implied meaning of that last statement. Lucky me.

I shooed him off to take care of business while I pulled my shirt back on and zipped up my pants. Then it was just me alone in Ranger's apartment. Me alone with my thoughts. I was already starting to hear the annoying whispers of guilt, but this time I silenced them completely from my mind. This was something between me and Ranger. Not me, Ranger, and my guilty conscience.

Even with my guilt momentarily silenced, I still felt like I needed to move around and process some things. I walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. Then I wandered down the hall toward the bedroom and gave a wistful sigh. I decided stripping down and reclining on the bed might be a fun way to surprise Ranger. I started to tug my shirt over my head when I heard something fall and hit the floor.

I poked my head in Ranger's office and found a file folder that had fallen from the desk. I went to put it back, but my eye caught a glimpse of something that made my jaw drop. It was a printout of a background check for none other than Benjamin Harold Johnson. The Ben Johnson who had recently taken me on two dates.

The heat from my growing frustration and anger started simmering in my gut. How could Ranger do this? I'd never even told him this guy's name before, and here he was doing a freaking background check! I grabbed the papers and stormed back out to the living room.

A few minutes later, I heard the door open. Ranger hurried toward me until he caught a glimpse of my expression. Then he promptly slammed on the breaks.

"Everything ok?" he asked when obviously it wasn't.

"What is this?" I asked darkly getting up from the couch and slamming the papers on the kitchen table. Ranger glanced at them but didn't bother responding. His expression was emotionless. He didn't even look guilty.

"Let me guess, these just happened to magically appear in your office?" I asked sarcastically.

"Babe. I can explain."

"Don't _babe_ me," I scowled. "And please, feel free to enlighten me with an explanation. I'm just dying to hear all the crap you're about to spin."

"I was…trying to keep you safe," he said.

"No. _This_ is not trying to keep me safe. _This_ ," I said flapping the papers in the air, "is a blatant invasion of privacy. How did you even figure out who he was? I know I sure as hell didn't tell you."

"I bumped into him leaving your apartment last week." His response _really_ pissed me off.

"What'd you find out? Is he a mass murderer like you'd hoped? A cheater whose broken thousands of unsuspecting hearts? Oh wait, maybe he's never filed his taxes. Any of those show up on his background check?"

"No," Ranger answered flatly. "The guy checks out."

"No shit. You know, I'm not a complete idiot when it comes to figuring out who the creeps are in the world."

"No, you're not. Listen, I'm…"

"I've heard enough," I interrupted him. "I need to get out of here. Maybe you should let Tank take the lead on the whole Rocky case. I'd feel more comfortable working with him right now."

Ranger shrugged. "Fine." I hated that his face, even his eyes betrayed nothing. He didn't appear hurt or frustrated, annoyed or vengeful. He didn't appear anything. If it had been me standing there, expletives would have been hurled and tears would be pouring down my face by the bucket-full.

I pushed past him to the door and left without even a backward glance. I made it down to the garage before I realized I still didn't have a car. Ranger wouldn't get the satisfaction of me crawling back up those seven floors to request the keys for the loaner vehicle. I whipped out my phone and dialed Ben. It went to voicemail.

"Hey, it's Stephanie," I said as I started walking away from the Rangeman building. "I decided I don't need the whole two weeks after all. Let me know when you want to go out again." I paused. "Oh, and Ben, I think I'll take you up on the offer to borrow your car. Call me when you get this message."

I made it almost five blocks before my phone rang.

"Hey hot stuff," came a refreshing voice. "It's Ben."


	10. Chapter 10

Ben came by to pick me up a half an hour later. By that time I'd had long enough to start the cool down process from my raging fury fest. And I was starting to feel a growing emotion similar to my usual guilt and regret. Yet somehow it was bigger and maybe even more deeply rooted. As much as I hated to admit it, I was starting to feel some real remorse.

"What changed your mind?" Ben asked after I climbed into his car.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You suddenly changed your mind about needing the two weeks to think about us. Did something happen?"

My mind replayed several snippets of the last couple of hours with Ranger. I'd have to do some damage control there soon. But I wasn't ready just to ignore the line that had been crossed either. And honestly, I was downright exhausted from being under Ranger's spell all the time. Maybe it wasn't even a spell. I was tired of being in love with someone who couldn't love me back in the same way.

It was the vacation offer that really awakened that realization. I was just too drunk off of Ranger's sex appeal at the time to notice. I could see the two of us together so clearly in that beach setting, in any setting really. It always seemed so normal for him to be in my apartment or for me to be in his. We've long since lost that awkwardness of not knowing where dishes are kept or where the toothbrushes belong. Because of this familiarity, I sometimes even forget that I don't truly belong in that seventh story apartment.

Because even though I have a key, which is more than can be said for a lot of people, I've never been offered the permanent resident status. The invitation won't be extended either, and it was high time I came to terms with that fact. I did a mental sigh. I knew I still owed Ranger an apology, but after that, I guess I'd come to the conclusion that it was finally time to let him go.

"No," I said shaking my head. "I guess I just had the realization that I was ready to move forward, that's all. I was letting my fear stand in the way of that, and I'm done being afraid. I like you, Ben," I continued turning to face him. His face was a clean slate of sorts. New and exciting with surprises yet to be uncovered and a future of endless possibilities. "You're charming and direct and honest. I trust you, and I think we should give this relationship a shot."

"I like you too, Steph," Ben said with a beaming smile. "And I'm looking forward to spending a lot more time with you."

I gave him a small smile in return. As we drove through the familiar hum of Trenton traffic, I allowed myself some time to absorb the moment. I felt a little happy. And a little sad. There was that familiar tinge of excitement that always came at the beginning of something new followed by the sheer terror of not knowing what lay in store for the journey ahead. And amidst everything else, there was still that deeply embedded remorse. I was worried I had done some irreparable damage to a friendship, and I had absolutely no idea what to do about it. Perhaps a simple apology would be best.

Ben was humming a tune in the seat next to me, seemingly carefree and all smiles. Surely I was strong enough to move past all of this. Or at least strong enough to embrace the change. At this juncture, I really felt like I didn't have much of a choice. "Ready or not," I thought to myself. "Here we go."

I received an email the following morning from Tank. It was a little shocking that his vocabulary was a little bigger in written format, especially considering I could almost always count on conversations with Tank to be completed in ten words or less. On a really good day, maybe even five or less.

He explained that thanks to an informant, Ranger had managed to reclaim all but one of the forgeries. The obvious downside being that one was still missing, and there was no mention of finding Rocky either. Tank said he'd be available to continue working on the case if I needed him but would let me take the lead on figuring out the next step in our pursuit.

It was weird to have minimal mention of Ranger. Actually it was weird that the email wasn't _from_ Ranger in the first place. Of course, he was just arranging things as I'd asked. Or had it been more of a demand? Regardless, the new team was Tank and Stephanie, and I'd have to get used to that.

I cleaned my apartment and tried to brainstorm some ideas on Rocky's whereabouts. Nothing really jumped out at me. Eventually I decided I should probably pay Ray another visit. Maybe he'd have a new lead for me to follow. It couldn't hurt.

I dumped a few things into my bag for the day, and sat down at the table for a moment while I finished my lukewarm mug of coffee. My thoughts had kept me up half the night, and I felt the need to at least start thinking about the apology I owed Ranger. Part of me wanted to do it by text or maybe even email because the guy was really intimidating, but ultimately I knew I'd have to do it in person. He deserved that.

After several minutes, I'd started three different apologies, crumpled all of them into neat little paper balls, and missed all of the baskets I'd attempted to make into the garbage can. "Lame," I thought to myself. I attempted to start one more apology, but this time with the most basic message. "I'm sorry," it read. "I'm sorry about us. I'm sorry I can't do this anymore, and I'm sorry for being me." I thought about adding "you deserve better," but decided against it for now. Maybe the message was already implied.

I carefully folded the piece of paper and stuck it in my bag. Then I tossed some hamster nuggets in Rex's food dish before grabbing my keys and heading out the door. Ok, they weren't _my_ keys. They were Ben's keys. And they weren't really keys at all. It was some kind of sensor thing that allowed me to a push a button to start the car when I was within a reasonable range. Weird, right?

The car was immaculate and fancy, and I still felt a little weird driving it. Ben had assured me that it was ok that I used it, but considering my luck with vehicles, I was worried it wouldn't be long before Ben's loaner vehicle erupted into a blazing pile of scrap metal. Of course, this had never stopped Ranger from continually loaning me cars, but he seemed to have an endless supply of them waiting for the next "babe" catastrophe. It was unlikely Ben would be as equally prepared or well stocked.

I sighed and decided now was probably not the time to worry about the car situation. There were bigger problems on my plate. Rocky was still at large, I needed to track down Ray, and I needed to muster up enough courage, or at least determination, to get my apology out in the open. I felt like Hercules setting out to fulfill his seemingly impossible tasks. Except I didn't have any superpowers. And I was far from immortal.

There was only one thing on my list right now that didn't feel impossible, and that was finding Ray. I guess it was a good place to start. Who knows? The rest of my tasks might work themselves out on their own. If I was lucky. Which I normally wasn't.

I drove to the street where I'd made the brownie drop-off earlier and took a few minutes to watch some of the foot traffic. It was late morning, so there wasn't much going on yet. Eventually I hopped out of the car, and headed toward an older woman panhandling on the corner.

"How's it going?" I asked handing her a dollar.

"Slow day," she frowned.

"You haven't seen Ray Tagwood around these parts lately, have you?"

She looked at me suspiciously. "Maybe I have. Maybe I haven't. What's it to ya?"

"I'm looking for someone, and Ray was kind enough to share some info with me several days ago. I was hoping with the right exchange rate, we could swap for some further details."

"Ray ain't gonna talk to _you_ ," the lady laugh-wheezed.

"Yeah? What makes you say that?"

She looked me over, her face stern, her eyes clever. "Answer's gonna cost ya, sweetie."

Great. Another swindler. How was it that people on the streets were often more shrewd and cunning than your average businessman?

"Lady, all I've got on me is a $5. And finding Ray is really important. Can't I bring you a pizza later or something? You can ask around. I'm good for it."

She gave me a look. "Yeah, I'll bet. Just give me the cash, and I'll see what I can remember about good ole Ray."

I reluctantly handed her the $5 from my wallet. She proceeded to make a face like she was digging really far back in her mental abyss for whatever dirt she had on Ray and his whereabouts. I was beginning to wonder if I'd just been ripped off. I did a mental grimace. It wouldn't be the first time. Probably not the last either.

"Ray had been hanging near a park lately. It's down the road not too far from here. You start out heading west and eventually you'll see it. Maybe he's still there. Maybe not. All's I know is no one's seen him 'round this street for a while."

I thanked her for the information and wished her luck. Then I hopped back into my car and headed west like I'd been instructed. Sure enough, there was a park about three miles down the road. A couple kids were playing on the swings, and a young woman sat watching them from a park bench nearby. They probably didn't know anything about Ray.

I decided after sitting in the car for a while that if I had to roam the streets living off of charity and people's good will, kicking it in a park probably wouldn't be that bad. Well, at least some parks. Some parks I would avoid like the plague. Shady deals went down in those parks, especially after hours and in the wrong neighborhoods. I looked around and wondered what kind of park this one was.

Suddenly I noticed someone off in the distance. He was wearing a uniform and stood emptying trash from one of the overflowing trash receptacles. Bingo!

I got out of my car and casually made my way over to the park employee.

"Excuse me!" I called as I closed the distance between us.

The man looked up. "Can I help you with something?" he asked politely.

"Yeah actually," I answered nearly missing a giant pile of dog poo. "You ever see some of the less fortunate roaming this area?"

"On occasion," the man replied. "Usually I have to make sure they're not botherin' no one or huntin' food in the cans."

"See an older man recently about my height, scraggly beard? Had a Yankees ball cap the last time I saw him. Goes by the name Ray."

The man frowned at me. "Hate to break the news to you, sweetheart, but I'm afraid the man you're looking for is dead. Found him the other morning lying on a park bench. From what I hear, sounds like he probably OD'd."


	11. Chapter 11

Perfect. Best news I'd heard all day. Except probably the furthest thing from it. So much for the Ray plan. This Rocky mess was really starting to get out of hand. And its ties to Ray's suspicious and untimely demise was smelling kinda fishy. Who am I kidding? It reeked! Like month-old slimy, decomposing fish guts.

Then again, it wasn't entirely impossible that Ray could've gotten a little carried away with one of his favorite recreational activities. But the guy seemed too smart to do something like that. I guess addiction didn't reserve its rampant path of destruction just for those who were stupid. Then a terrible thought occurred to me.

What if _I_ had killed Ray with the brownies? Oh my gosh! I was a murderer! I'd murdered a homeless man with a pan of Mooner's whacky brownies! I could feel myself start to hyperventilate.

"You ok, lady?" the park employee asked suddenly.

"Fine," I gasped. I took a few deep breaths. "Sorry, the news just took me by surprise is all."

The man nodded. "I know what you mean. I'd just met the guy, but he seemed pretty clear-minded at the time. But I've never had problems with an addiction like that either. Maybe he just couldn't help himself. He even had a syringe still in his arm when I found him."

"I'm sorry, did you say a syringe?" I asked. He nodded. Phew! At least I wasn't a murderer anymore.

"Do you know where that syringe ended up by chance? Was there a police investigation at all?"

"Not my area of expertise, lady. I called the cops when I found him, and they took things from there." He paused and frowned. "Sorry about Ray. Seemed like a decent guy."

I nodded. "Thanks. Me too."

I made my way back to my car feeling frustrated and sad. Ray wasn't someone I hung out with on a regular basis or anything, but he had a good sense of humor, and the guy had some real integrity. It was a lot more than could be said about many of the other people I know. I held a little moment of silence in remembrance of Ray. Hopefully heaven was stalked with some really good brownies. A whole truckload just for Ray.

My next course of action involved making a call to the Trenton PD. More specifically a call to a friend and relative of sorts, Eddie Gazarra. He was married to my cousin Shirley the whiner, and had proven himself useful on a number of occasions in pulling a few strings to make my life as a bond enforcement agent a little easier. After each favor, he always swore it was going to be the last, but really we both knew better.

I grabbed my phone and dialed his number. "Hey," I said when I heard the line pick up.

"What is it this time?" he asked with a sigh.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for asking," I replied sarcastically. "What's with the attitude today?"

"Paperwork's thick as mud over here, and I'm pretty sure I'm long overdue for a vacation. And when you call, I get a sinking feeling in my gut."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you're probably not the only one."

"Funny. What's up, Steph?"

"There was a homeless man found dead in a local park recently. The park employee I just talked to said it seemed like he'd overdosed on drugs. Know anything about it?"

"Not off the top of my head. Like I said earlier, the paperwork's been a real mess lately."

"Do you know what happens with stuff like that? I mean, the guy was homeless, and there probably wasn't much of a reason to suspect any foul play."

There was a beat of silence while Eddie considered my question. "I'm not exactly sure, but it probably works the same as any other death situation. The police department spends a few days trying to find the next of kin while the body stays in the morgue. If no one comes forward, then the body's cremated. Sometimes specialized groups fund a little ceremony of sorts, but I think that's about it."

"This happened a couple days ago. Do you think the body would still be in the morgue?"

"Maybe. What's so important about this dead person?"

"I don't think his drug overdose was an accident. But right now I don't really have any evidence to support my theory. I was hoping that maybe he left behind some clues for me to follow. Of course, it's probably all just wishful thinking at this point. Thanks for your help, Gazarra. Tell the whiner I said hi."

I ended the call before Eddie could give me an earful on my blatantly rude comment. But it's not like he didn't know who he married. Or what the family had nicknamed her. I assumed it was probably part of the reason he pulled the long hours at the police department.

I left the park and headed toward downtown. My next order of business was probably to pay a visit to the city morgue. Not exactly my idea of fun. Maybe a trip to Cluck in a Bucket for a milkshake would make things a little easier to handle.

I pulled through the drive thru and rounded up all my loose change. It was barely enough to cover the milkshake. I frowned. My cash flow problem was starting to really annoy me. After the morgue, I made a mental note to swing by the bonds office and see who was available for some quick cash. And if that didn't pan out, I thought I might make a call to my mother to see what delicacy would be making an appearance on the Plum family menu for the evening. The best thing about those meals? They almost always came with dessert, and my mom wasn't usually chincy when it came to the take-home bags of leftovers.

After I'd polished off my milkshake, I pulled into one of the parking spaces in front of the city morgue building. The place looked horribly grim and bleak. I was used to people making a big splashy show of death and dying where I grew up. I'd definitely been to my fair share of funerals and viewings at the local funeral parlors, but the morgue made the whole process seem anything but glamorous. I took a deep breath and went inside.

An unkempt man was sitting at the desk looking bored out of his mind. His badge said his name was Carl.

"Hi Carl," I said politely.

Carl's eyes perked up slightly. Then his gaze shifted not so subtly from my face to my breasts. I guess younger women probably didn't often make routine appearances around here.

"What can I help you with?" he asked still clearly distracted by my chest. I glanced down to make sure I hadn't spilled milkshake all over my shirt.

"Uh, yeah. I heard the police brought in a guy the other day. Name was Raymond Allen Tagwood. I was hoping to find out his COD."

Carl snapped out of his boob trance for a moment. "Tagwood, huh? Let me take a look real quick." He shuffled off to the back while I stood looking around. The whole place was kind of creepy. Including Carl. Note to self: never reach desperate level low enough to work in a morgue.

Carl suddenly reappeared carrying a piece of paper. "The coroner's report said the cause of death was a drug overdose. No surprise there, I guess. Heard the guy was a bum."

"Hey now," I said narrowing my eyes. "That's not a very kind way to speak of the deceased. Why don't you show a little respect?"

"Geez, lady. What's _your_ problem?"

"He was a friend. And a classy guy." Which was a lot more than could be said for Carl at the moment. "What happened to his personal belongings?"

"Relative dropped by yesterday to claim everything. Even picked up the body."

Ray had a relative nearby? I wondered how he wound up homeless. Unless the relative wasn't _really_ a relative. I could see Carl letting something like that slide for the right price.

"Did the relative leave a name?" I asked. "I'd like to help pay for some of Ray's final expenses."

"Probably. You've gotta sign off on everything before you can take it." Carl pulled out a log book from his desk. He ran his finger down the list. "Ah, yes. Relative's name was Mag I. Ver." I waited for Carl to figure out what he'd just said, but obviously the mental train wasn't making it to the station.

I slammed my palm into my forehead. "You let someone sign off on a deceased person's personal effects and their body with a name like MacGyver? Are you insane?"

Carl got a dopey grin on his face and let out a few husky laughs. "Heh heh. That's kinda funny, don't you think?"

I grabbed Carl by the collar of his shirt and nearly pulled him over the desk. "Listen you moron, you probably just screwed up an entire investigation thanks to your complete inability to use even the smallest amount of common sense. Ray deserved better than this. Better than you, you incompetent pea brain!" I let Carl fall back in his chair behind the desk. "And don't think I won't file a sexual harassment claim with your superiors over your obvious ogling of my boobs. You're disgusting!"

I stormed out the door and was in such a huff that I almost mowed over another person on their way inside. Except it wasn't just any person. It was Ranger.

"Did you follow me here?" I asked still steaming from my recent Carl experience.

"No." His eyes narrowed a little.

"Well alright then. Good seeing you." I turned abruptly and headed towards Ben's car. Except I hesitated a moment. Maybe outside the morgue wasn't the best place for an apology, but it's not like there was a rule book for this sort of thing. I did a mental sigh. Maybe I should just set up a rendezvous time for later.

"Did you have another accusation for me?" Ranger asked. "You seem to be debating about saying something else."

I turned around and walked back over to him. But instead of being pleasant and arranging a meeting to apologize, his comment made some case-related crap spill out of my mouth instead. And not exactly in the nicest of tones. "Why exactly _are_ you here?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

He shrugged. "Probably the same reason you were. Doing some investigating on an untimely death."

"I thought you were off the Rocky case," I said feeling the sudden need to study my shoes.

"Just because I'm no longer working the case with _you_ doesn't mean I'm not working the case at all. I'm still hunting for one of the forged art pieces. Along with the guy who made me look like an amateur."

"Right." I paused. "You're probably not gonna have much luck in there. The body's gone thanks to some grade A employee incompetence. And the guy's a complete perv."

Ranger's mouth twitched a small smile. "I think I can safely assume you already put him in his place."

"Well someone had to." I felt myself smile a little. "Listen, I think we need to find some time to talk about some things."

"I don't know. You sent a pretty clear message last time. And besides, I'm going to be gone for a while starting tomorrow."

"How about tonight then?"

He frowned and his body stiffened. "I'm working." I couldn't tell if it was the truth or a really believable excuse to avoid me.

"Whatever," I sighed yanking the folded piece of paper out of my bag. "Here."

Ranger stared at the paper. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Whatever the hell you want," I huffed shoving it into his hand. He was probably making all of this difficult on purpose. "Burn it, eat it, run it over with your car. I don't really care. I just wanted to… You know what, never mind." I turned to leave again. "Maybe I'll see you around." I glanced back. "Stay safe, Ranger."

I hopped in the car and tried not to lose it. The apology had been a disaster. Ray was dead. And nothing felt like it should. I pinched my arm just to make sure I wasn't living in a nightmare. Nope, I was definitely awake. Maybe it was time to do what any desperate person would do in my situation. I decided it was time to call my mom.


	12. Chapter 12

As probably expected, talking with my mother didn't exactly resolve anything for me. But I did start to feel better after an earful of Burg gossip, a meatloaf sandwich, and three chocolate chip cookies. Those home cooked delicacies really had a way of putting life's worries into perspective. At least during the time frame in which it took to eat them.

By the time I left my parents' house later that day, I was feeling a little better about everything. I decided that things weren't really all _that_ bad. The biggest problem at the moment was my lack of money. I had hoped to fix that by finding Rocky, but since I had recently reached a dead end in the case (sorry Ray, no pun intended), I decided to put him on the back burner for a while.

There were still some other skips to bring in. Maybe their apprehensions wouldn't amount to the kind of money that would enable me to bask in the sun on a sandy beach somewhere, but they probably would keep some decent groceries in my fridge and a roof over my head. Throw in a few date nights with Ben, and what more could a girl really ask for?

Of course I wasn't about to put the whole Rocky mess on hold permanently. After all, I still wanted to get to the bottom of everything to make sure justice was duly served on Ray's behalf. But taking a break from it for a while so that I could come back to it later with a new set of eyes seemed like a decent plan.

I emailed Tank with my thoughts on the case and asked him to run a few things through the Rangeman systems just in case I'd somehow missed something important. I also told him everything would be put on hiatus for a while until further notice. He would probably be relieved that he'd no longer be caught in the middle of the mess I'd created with Ranger. Or maybe he really wouldn't care one way or the other. It was hard to tell with Tank.

I made my way back to the bonds office and decided it was time to tell the girls about Ben. Well, maybe not _everything_ , but at least the part that I was seeing someone new. Actually, I'd be a little surprised if they hadn't heard something about it by now anyway. News traveled fast in these parts. Especially anything in the "who's dating whom" department. Those juicy tidbits were known to travel at warp speed.

I hopped out of Ben's car and took a deep, cleansing breath. Maybe my new mantra should be something along the lines of "keep moving forward." I'd keep things as simple as possible and take it one day at a time. Maybe if I managed all of that, the rest of my problems would start to resolve themselves. A girl could hope, right?

A few months passed, and I was feeling pretty good about things. Well, most things anyway. Ben and I were moving forward with our relationship at a slightly slower pace than before, but it definitely felt like it was moving in a good direction. Everything we did together felt natural and comfortable, which turned out to be a nice change of pace for me in the dating realm. Not that my other relationships hadn't felt comfortable, but there always seemed to be an underlying element of friction that kept everything from settling properly.

Come to think of it, the element causing all the friction in the past was probably me. Maybe I'd finally grown up enough to stop being my own stumbling block. Or maybe Ben and I just made a good team. It was hard to tell.

On the work front I was surprised and maybe a little relieved that Rocky suddenly stopped leaving me random messages. In fact, he kind of disappeared altogether for a while. Maybe he felt like he had to go underground after the situation with Ray, or maybe I was boring him. It didn't stop me from asking around about his whereabouts or recent activities, but nothing new popped up in conversation. I wondered if Ranger was having more success in uncovering anything new on Rocky.

Speaking of Ranger, his lack of communication with me lately was probably the thing I felt least good about. It was uncharacteristic of him, and it really gnawed at me that first month after my big Ben background check blow-up. But every time I started to dial his number, I ended up second guessing myself and would chicken out before the line even connected.

I really wanted to know if he'd ever read my apology note, but by now I was honestly too afraid to ask. If he had read it, I would have assumed that he would have at least sent me some kind of message in return. Which of course, he hadn't. Or at least I'd never received it. Therefore, my next assumption was that he promptly tossed it in the trash. Or maybe he ate it like I'd suggested at the time. Or perhaps he framed the stupid thing and hung it on his wall so he could laugh at it every time he walked by. " _Glad to be done with that whole mess,"_ he probably thought to himself. Yeah, obviously I wasn't done stewing over Ranger just yet.

But with each passing day, Ranger seemed to slip further and further from the forefront of my mind. Maybe the separation was good for us. Or maybe it was just the natural course of things. If we weren't moving forward on the same path in life whether as friends or lovers or whatever it was that we were the rest of the time, then the natural order of things seemed to suggest that eventually one of us would veer off in a new direction. Maybe our paths would cross again, and I hoped they would, but I also needed to remind myself that there was a chance that they wouldn't. Unless one or both of us changed that. The thought sometimes kept me up at night.

For our four-month anniversary, Ben decided to surprise me with a romantic night out involving fancy attire, a Broadway show, and a dinner that probably cost more than my first car. He called in to work for me, sent me on a shopping spree for a new dress, new shoes, and a trip to my favorite salon. I felt like I was getting the royal treatment. And this was just our _four-month_ anniversary! Who knows what I'd have to look forward to if we made it an entire year together.

Being the good friend that she is, Lula opted to call in to work as well to assist me in the search for the perfect dress for the evening. Of course her ideas and my ideas of perfection were slightly different. She kept pulling things from the rack that were bright, flashy, and kind of slutty. And I kept pulling the dresses that were longer, lighter, and still a little slutty. I guess we both had the same idea of how Ben and I would be celebrating after we made it back from dinner.

After what felt like hours of searching, I finally settled on a pale blue dress. It hugged all my curves and the sleeves came down to my elbows. The skirt ended just above my knees, which didn't make the dress all that slutty except for the slit up the side that went all the way up to my hip. It was modestly filled with some eye-catching black lace, which I think conveyed the right message. We polished the look off with some scandalous FMP's and then I was off to the salon.

Although I do know a thing or two about hair and makeup, I rarely put a ton of effort into mine. Most days I gather the frizzy mess on top of my head into a ponytail and call it decent. But tonight I wanted to try something a little different. Since I had some time before Ben came to pick me up, I decided to have the stylist straighten my hair. All of it. Every single last wave and curl.

When she finally spun my chair around to see the finished product, I was speechless. It was like someone else was staring back at me. The woman in the mirror looked sophisticated and put together. Those were words you might use to describe my mother or my sister, Valerie. But not me. Who knew all it took for a touch of sophistication was a new hair style?

I left the salon with a little spring in my step. My fairy godmother-also known as Ben's credit card-had given me a new look and a new gown for the ball with my prince charming. I whispered a little prayer that it wouldn't all disappear at the stroke of midnight. Well, maybe I wouldn't mind if the gown disappeared. At least under the right circumstances.

Ben dropped by my place at 3:00 PM to give us plenty of time to make it through the chaos of New York City traffic. His jaw nearly dropped when I opened the door.

"I'm sorry. I'm looking for Stephanie Plum. Have you seen her?" he smiled.

I spun around just for fun. "What do you think?"

"I think you look sleek and sexy, and I wish I would have given myself a little more wiggle room to get better acquainted with the new you." He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him. One of his fingers traced a line up the lacy slit in the dress. "I'm really liking this black lace bit here. Does it match anything else you're wearing this evening?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out…later. Right now you've promised me a show and food, both of which are supposed to be beyond amazing. I couldn't live with myself if I missed any of that."

"I don't know. I'm sure I could think of something that could trump the show _and_ the food." He leaned in and kissed me, and for a moment I worried that we weren't going to make it out of the apartment. I pushed on his shoulders and wriggled myself out from under his arms.

"Show first. Dinner second. _Then_ we can get to that other stuff."

"You're so pushy sometimes," he said pretending to frown. "I like it." We both laughed as he offered me his arm and we headed out the door.

Normally I wouldn't consider myself much of a live-theater personality. I'm more of a buttered-popcorn-movie-theater type. Or if I'm really honest, I'm a Netflix-in-my-pajamas type. But maybe that's because I'd never been to a Broadway show before.

The talent of the performers was breathtaking. I can barely walk and talk at the same time, but these people were singing _and_ dancing while staying on pitch and not tripping over everyone else on stage. And the songs were really catchy. I caught myself humming them several times during the remainder of the evening. And maybe even the following week.

Of course the real highlight of the evening for me was the food. I had poured over the online menu for two hours the previous evening trying to decide on the best possible dinner. Naturally I changed my mind every five minutes or so, but I knew whatever I settled on was probably going to be mind-blowing.

As we made our way over to the restaurant, Ben's phone rang. He glanced at it then quickly put it away. The valet parked our car, and Ben walked me to the door.

"We're a little early for our reservation," he said. "I hate to be rude, but I really need to make a quick call. Why don't you head over to the bar and order a glass of wine. I'll be back before you even notice I'm gone."

My nose wrinkled just slightly in disappointment, but I decided the glass of wine didn't sound too bad. I watched Ben head back outside then found a seat at the bar just as the drink orders started to pick up. About halfway through my glass of wine, I felt a hand tap my shoulder from behind.

"Is the seat next to you taken?" asked a familiar voice.

"Depends on who's asking," I replied before turning around.

Ranger was in his classy client attire: black shoes, black slacks, black dress shirt, black tie. Probably no matching black underwear. He looked sexy as hell.

"A friend," he said before slipping on to a bar stool next to me.

"How'd you know it was me?" I asked after taking a small sip of wine. "I'm not exactly wearing my usual ripped jeans and t-shirt."

"Certain things about you are hard to miss." He ordered himself a glass of wine and waited as the bartender brought it over. He took a slow sip. "I like the dress."

I watched for the familiar twitch at the corner of his mouth. "Thanks. I like it too."

"Really brings out your eyes. I have to admit, the hair took me by surprise a little."

"Yeah? You don't like it? I think it makes me look kind of sophisticated." I gathered my hair in one hand and draped it over my shoulder. Then I straightened my back a little and lifted my nose in the air.

Ranger smiled slightly and reached out to touch a loose strand of hair, catching my gaze as he did. "It's beautiful. But I miss the curls."

I could feel myself starting to get all flustered, so I decided to change the subject. "What brings you to the Big Apple this evening? A date?"

"With a client. He's running a little late. You?"

"I'm here with Ben."

"Ah." He paused. "How is Ben?"

"Ben's…here! Hi Ben," I said awkwardly as I watched him cross over to where we were sitting.

"Hello," Ben said eyeing Ranger suspiciously. "Looks like you found a tall drink of water to go with your glass of wine."

"Stephanie's a friend," Ranger said offering Ben his hand. "Carlos Manoso."

"Ben Johnson." From the looks of things, they were obviously sizing each other up, and the handshake lasted way longer than it should have. I wanted to shrink to the size of an ant and crawl under the bar stool.

"Everything go ok?" I asked turning to Ben.

"Yeah. Everything's fine. Our table is ready." He offered me his arm, and I took it to ease myself off the bar stool.

"See you around, Steph," Ranger said as he got up to leave.

Ben and I walked over to our table in an uncomfortable silence.

"So," Ben started. "A friend, huh?"

"We used to work together," I offered as if that explained everything.

"He seems kind of scary. And way too good looking to _just_ be a friend." Ben paused. "You two ever date?"

I wondered if all the stakeouts and the occasional Rangeman operations that involved a dress could be considered dates. Not by most people's definition probably.

"Nope." Hopefully Ben wouldn't ask if we'd ever slept together. There was definitely no way to skirt my way around that one. At least not without blatantly lying about it.

"Well, ok then," he said unfolding his menu. "What did you finally decide on ordering this evening?"

I opened my menu and pretended to take one final look through everything, but I knew what I'd already settled on. My stomach rumbled in anticipation. "I think I'm going to have to go with the lobster. Someone's review of it said it was 'palette-blowing'. How could you not go with something like that?"

By the end of the meal, I was in total agreement with the reviewer; the lobster was definitely palette-blowing. It tasted even better than some of the desserts I've eaten. Probably because it was basted in twice the amount of butter. The last bite was bitter-sweet knowing that I probably wouldn't eat something _that_ delicious for quite a while. Unless Ben really outdid himself and had birthday cake waiting for us back at his place.

I decided to hit the bathroom before we left to avoid any awkward pit stops on the long drive back to Jersey. As I was reapplying my lipstick, something caught my eye in the mirror. There was a small white thing on my shoulder poking out from under the neckline of my dress. Feeling slightly embarrassed, I reached for it and hoped I hadn't gone the entire evening with a price tag hanging out of my dress. But it wasn't a price tag. It was a tiny, folded piece of paper.

I carefully unfolded it. "I'm sorry I can't take no for an answer. Not with you," it read. "Don't ever apologize for being you. And don't ever change for anyone. Even me." There looked like there was something else written at the bottom, but it appeared the pen had run out of ink. I held it up to the vanity light to see if I could make out anything, but it was useless.

It crossed my mind to check and see if Ranger was still in the restaurant somewhere, but if Ben came looking for me, I wouldn't have a very good explanation for my actions. He was probably already gone anyway. I refolded the tiny piece of paper and poked it inside my clutch. After one final glance in the mirror, I headed back out into the busy restaurant to meet Ben.

On the drive back to Trenton, I must have been unusually quiet because Ben asked if I was feeling ok three different times.

"Sorry," I said after the third time. "Just thinking, I guess."

Ben got a wry smile. "Hopefully you're thinking about the scandalous activities that will be taking place just a few moments from now."

I smiled politely. And tried to put on a fun, playful expression. Actually I had been thinking that it was kind of nice that someone missed my curls. And thought Stephanie Plum was just right as Stephanie Plum. No changes necessary.


	13. Chapter 13

A few days after the night out with Ben, I was getting ready to head home from the bonds office when a black Explorer pulled up next to my car. I gave a subtle smile as Ranger hopped out.

"What brings you by Vinnie's?" I asked raising an eyebrow. Ranger used to work at the bonds office and even continued to bring in some of the tougher clientele on an as-needed basis, but he hadn't been by for employment purposes in years. So naturally, my assumption was that he was there to see me.

"Do you have a minute?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Probably. Why? What's up?"

Ranger walked to the other side of the Explorer and opened the door. I followed his lead and slid into the passenger seat as he walked back around to the driver's side.

"Are we going somewhere?" I asked.

"Not unless you want to. Just thought talking might be more comfortable in here. And a little less out-in-the-open."

I nodded. "Ok." I thought for a moment. "Does this have anything to do with the Rocky case? Or the note you left me at the restaurant?"

There was a small smile. "You found it." I couldn't tell if it was more a statement or a question.

"Yes. You have a very…unique delivery system." I paused. "I appreciated the sentiment."

"All true." His eyes caught mine for a moment. "And I really am sorry about the background check. But I…"

"Let's just leave it in the past then," I said cutting him off. I didn't want to ruin the conversation by talking about Ben.

He breathed out a sigh. "I can't. It's why I needed to talk with you."

My eyes narrowed a little. "I thought he was clean. What's wrong with him this time?"

Ranger looked out his window. "I don't know. But there's something there. I have a feeling that this guy has gone to some really great lengths to keep his real identity buried. He has a look, babe. I saw it when he shook my hand. You can wear all the disguises in the world, but you can't hide that look."

I really wanted to believe Ranger. He'd been in the tracking-the-bad-guys business for a long time, and I usually trusted his instincts. They had been developed and refined over years of first-hand experience, and I can't say I remembered a single situation in which he had ever been wrong. It was a promising track record.

But I usually had my own gut instincts to support the Ranger theories. I hadn't been getting the bad-guy vibe with Ben. At all. Besides, why would someone spend all that money on dinners, outings, and gifts if they had some sinister plan to do me harm? It seemed beyond ridiculous.

"Is it possible you could be wrong on this one?" I asked, my eyes showing a hint of concern.

He looked at me then shook his head. "You don't see it."

"I'm sorry, I don't. And I'm a little worried where all of this might be coming from."

"It's possible your judgment might be clouded by the rose-colored goggles you've been wearing lately." I could sense a tone of frustration in his voice.

The remark instantly made me shift into defensive mode. "Or yours could be clouded by the veil of green you've been looking through." He shifted his weight and stared out the windshield.

"I don't do the jealousy thing." I used to believe it. But this recent fixation on Ben really had me unconvinced.

"Listen," he added. "I just wanted to remind you to be careful. I don't trust this guy, and I don't like his apparent interest in you. But since I obviously can't convince you of the danger you're in, just be…observant. Keep your eyes open for the red flags."

"Red flags. Got it," I said sliding out of the passenger door. I stopped just before shutting it. "What did you write on the bottom of the note?"

Ranger looked at me blankly.

"The pen ran out of ink or something, but there were obvious marks at the bottom of the paper. What else did you write?"

Ranger started the ignition. "Some other time, babe."

"You always say that, but I have a feeling you're never going to finish that thought."

"I'll tell you the moment it becomes important."

"What if you forget?"

"I won't. Trust me," he said as he shifted the car into reverse.

I sighed as I hopped back in my car. Why did I get the feeling that Ranger's unspoken message was _already_ important?

After Ranger's surprise appearance, I was feeling the need for a sudden sugar fix. The Tasty Pastry was already closed, so I decided to drop by a convenience store for some essentials. I was halfway through my third candy bar by the time I made it back to my apartment. Ben was waiting for me in the kitchen. He smiled then eyed the candy bar remnants in my hand.

"Rough day?" he asked. I glanced past him and saw something cooking on the stove. It was nice to have dinner waiting for me.

"Not really. I just felt the need for a Snickers." And a Butterfinger. And a Milky Way. I glanced at the wrapper in my hand just to make sure it was the Snickers I'd just finished.

"How many?" Ben asked with a wry smile.

I wasn't sure how he knew, but I decided it wouldn't hurt to come clean. About the candy bars. Not the surprise visit from Ranger. "Three," I sighed.

Ben gave a sharp laugh and went back to stirring whatever was on the stove. I laughed a little myself before walking over to Ben. I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind and leaned my head against his back. "This is nice," I sighed into his shirt.

"If you think this is nice, wait until you see what I have planned for dessert."

I let go of him and turned him around so he was facing me. "I'm sure that'll be nice too. But I'm not just referring to dinner. I like having you here when I come home, and I like not having to hide things from you. You haven't freaked out about my job, and you don't seem to mind having to order takeout when it's my night to cook. I've never been in a relationship that felt so effortless before. It seems like all I have to worry about these day is how and when I'll get my next paycheck. That's a good sign, right?"

Ben smiled and kissed me as his arms slid around my waist. "I think it's a great sign. And I actually wanted to talk with you about your employment situation."

Uh oh. Maybe Ranger was right after all. Maybe this was going to be one of those red flags.

I frowned. "What do we need to talk about?"

"I'm working with some really challenging companies right now doing negotiations, and I could really use some help keeping everything straight with the paperwork coming in and going out. And it wouldn't hurt to have a feminine touch at some of the luncheons I go to. What do you think? Want to come work for me for a while?"

"Gee Ben, I don't know." I pulled away from him and went and sat on the couch. "It's a really nice offer, but… Well, I don't know." Actually I was thinking about having to wear corporate clothes all the time, fixing my hair, and not having the flexibility to choose my own hours. I hadn't been held up to the standards of a "normal" job in a long time. I wasn't sure I could handle it.

"Most days you could probably work from home doing my data entry. Or if you felt like you needed a more professional atmosphere, you could come work out of my office. How would that sound?"

It was actually sounding really good. Data entry from home? I could _totally_ handle that. And I already knew I liked my boss. The corporate luncheons would just be icing on the cake.

"You're not just doing this because my current job embarrasses you, are you?"

"Are you kidding? Every time I tell people what my girlfriend does for a living, they get all jealous. Not everyone gets to date a badass bounty hunter, you now?"

I gave a weak smile. "It's just because they have no idea what that actually means. All they imagine me doing is the stuff from the TV shows and movies."

Ben got a little more serious. "Listen Steph, I see how frustrating your job can be for you. And you just keep going. It's really admirable actually. One of the many things I love about you. But wouldn't you like something with a little more consistency? And maybe something that doesn't leave you with bruises, ripped-out jeans, and sore muscles all the time?"

I thought about it for a moment. If kid Stephanie was given the choice between the two jobs, she totally would have taken the bruises and ripped-out jeans. She _craved_ that type of danger and adventure. But maybe adult Stephanie was ready for something a little more stable. Maybe she could adjust to having adventures that consisted of trying new things at restaurants and meeting new people. At least it was something to consider trying for a while.

"Ok, I'll take the job."

Ben grinned. "Great. I'll go get you a job application."

I raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize I'd have to apply for the position," I called after him.

He returned a few minutes later with something small and lacy in his hands.

"I thought you were getting me a job application."

"This is it, hot stuff."

I grabbed the lacy negligée. "This better not be the standard application process for a job with you."

Ben pulled me over to him and slid his hands under my shirt. "Don't worry, it's not."

He leaned in to kiss me, but I pulled back. "What about dinner?"

"Don't worry, I left it on a simmer. Everything else should be ok until your interview is over."

I shook my head and smiled as Ben pulled me toward the bedroom. Interesting. A new job. This couldn't possibly be one of those red flags that Ranger had wanted me to watch for. The benefits package was too good.


	14. Chapter 14

I rolled out of bed the next morning feeling an odd mixture of emotions. Ben had left after dinner the night before due to an early morning conference call, but before his departure, we'd finalized all the details for the new job I'd be starting in a couple of days. Well, all the details except how I was going to break the news to Connie and Lula. And Vinnie too, I guess.

It was dumb, but it kind of felt like high school graduation all over again. Part of me couldn't wait to get the whole thing over with, so I could bust out of the bonds office doors with a "thanks for the memories" and a "good riddance" called over my shoulder. But then there was that small sentimental part of me that knew I'd miss it. Well, parts of it anyway.

I'd done a lot of growing up in that stupid office. Maybe not in the traditional sense, but I'd definitely discovered some things about myself working there over the years. I found out that I could be resourceful in tough situations and that my mind still mostly operated on a functioning level during extreme and sometimes terrifying moments. My instincts weren't half bad, especially when I really took the time to listen to them, and I kind of had some decent people skills.

Sure my paychecks were kind of sporadic and I went through cars like a book of matches, but at the end of the day I wasn't just some unfortunate washed up pretty girl lingerie buyer with a cheating ex-husband. I was Stephanie Plum, unconventional bounty hunter extraordinaire. With a penchant for pastries, this seeker of secrets and righter of wrongs (almost) always got her man.

I decided coming up with my own taglines was kind of fun. Maybe if things didn't work out working for Ben, I'd have to think about giving the whole journalism thing a go. Stephanie Plum: wonder woman of the written word. At least it had a fun ring to it.

I pulled on some clean clothes and dabbed on some makeup before tossing Rex a cracker and heading out the door. Stupid nostalgic song lyrics kept popping into my mind on the drive over to the bonds office. Since when had I become Miss Sentimental? Hopefully I could chalk it up to hormones.

Connie was at her desk flipping through a magazine when I walked in.

"You look like you could use a donut this morning," she said tossing me the bag from her desk. I wondered if Ben regularly purchased donuts for his employees.

"Thanks," I sighed slumping on the couch.

"Man troubles?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Not this time. I'll tell you more once Lula gets here."

About a half an hour later, I heard a familiar screech of breaks outside the office and assumed Lula would be storming through the door any minute. Sure enough, electrically colored fabrics that were stretched dangerously across dark skin bombarded their way into the office just a beat later. Lula caught my eye as she walked in.

"What brings you by so early today?" she asked taking a seat next to me. I guess it wasn't much of a secret that I liked to hit my snooze button a few extra times when I thought I could get away with it. I offered her the donut bag. "Don't mind if I do," she smiled.

"I've got some news," I finally answered. Lula eyed me suspiciously before grabbing my left hand.

"There ain't no ring." She paused. "You pregnant?"

I yanked my hand back. "No!"

"You say that like it's not even a possibility."

"It's not."

"You sure? Cuz that dopey side smirk you're sporting this morning coupled with that just-been-laid smell ain't foolin' nobody."

I subtly sniffed at my arm. Was there really a smell? I was pretty sure Lula was always joking about that.

"I'm _not_ pregnant," I reiterated. Connie was still pretending to read her magazine, but there was a little smirk on her face. I couldn't tell if it was because I was getting all worked up or if it was because Lula was being Lula.

"I just wanted to tell the both of you that I won't be working here anymore." There was a strange silence that fell over the room. Connie momentarily glanced up from her magazine. She stared at me for a minute, did a small eye roll then went back to her reading.

I guess it wasn't all that unusual for me to threaten leaving this place. On a really bad week, it might even happen every other day. But I was serious this time. From here on out, I was done being Stephanie Plum the bounty hunter.

"I'm serious," I added turning my attention to Lula. She was busy sucking the residual powdered sugar from her fingers. "Ben offered me a job working for him. The hours are good, and the pay is even better."

Lula looked at me and grinned. "Yeah, I'll bet."

"That's not what I mean." Although if it was anything like the interview I'd had, I could definitely get used to some of the added perks of working for Ben.

"So, what? You're saying you're done here? Like _done_ done?" Lula asked. Finally, the fact that I was being more serious than usual was starting to sink in.

"Yeah," I sighed. "As in no more skip chasing." Lula frowned.

Connie eyed me again then closed her magazine. "I don't think Vinnie's gonna be too happy about that. You might not be the best at what you do, but lately you've been the only one bringing in a consistent payday around here. Things could go south really quick if the bond agreements aren't getting settled." I could sense a subtle tone of worry in her voice. I wouldn't necessarily lose a lot of sleep over Vinnie and his business going belly-up, but I would feel kind of bad leaving Connie and Lula without jobs. Even crummy ones.

I sat considering the real weight of my resignation. Then a thought popped into my head. "Most of my new job will be working from home. Maybe I can pull double-duty for a while until you can hire my replacement." I had to admit, it didn't sound like a _brilliant_ idea. But at least it would keep things better balanced for a while. And it might work at minimizing some of the guilt I was starting to feel.

"You sure you can handle that?" Connie asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Sure," I smiled weakly. "Piece of cake." Vinnie's office door caught my eye. "Is the creep in there?" I asked.

Connie got up from her desk and walked across the room. "You in there, Vinnie?" she asked with a firm knock.

"Depends on whose asking," a voice hollered back.

"Car thieves and drug dealers." She gave me and Lula a devilish grin.

I heard a noise that kind of sounded like a gun being cocked. "Send 'em in," he called.

"You're such an idiot," Connie shot back. "It's just Stephanie. Wants to have a word with you."

A desk drawer slammed shut, and the door suddenly opened. Vinnie looked over at me from the doorway. "Yeah? What's up?" he asked.

"I'm done."

"Getting Rocky?"

"No. I'm done _here_. Being a bond enforcement agent."

I let the words settle in for a moment. Vinnie just stared at me. Then a slow grin worked across his face.

"Nice try, Steph. What happened this time? Get thrown into one too many dumpsters? Lose another car?"

"I've lost way too many cars working this stupid job. But that's not the point. The point is I've been offered another job, and I'm going to take it. The hours will be fairly flexible, so I can probably help out a little around here until you find my replacement. But once you've got that under control, I won't be hunting skips for you anymore."

Vinnie looked over at Connie. "Is she serious?"

Connie shrugged. "Seems to be this time."

Vinnie frowned in thought for a moment. "You gotta help find your replacement then. I don't know anyone stupid enough to take on a crappy job like this."

"Thanks, Vin. You've always had such a flattering way with words," I said with an eye roll.

"Think Ranger knows anybody?" he asked.

"I think Ranger employs all the people he knows capable of doing this job. And he pays them better."

Vinnie sighed. "Good point."

Throughout this whole ordeal, Lula had been sitting quietly on the couch. "I might know a few people interested in the job," she offered.

Although I loved Lula, I was seriously skeptical of who she might have in mind to fill my shoes. And I was a little worried that there might not be another sane person in this world willing to have Lula ride along as their bounty hunting sidekick. She was sometimes a lot to handle. An endearing person with a vibrant personality, but definitely a lot to handle.

Vinnie rolled his eyes then turned to Connie. "Put an ad out that we're hiring. Maybe we'll get lucky." He turned back to me. "And I think you owe me Rocky before you officially turn in your papers."

"I don't owe you anything," I scoffed. "You didn't even think I'd be capable of doing any of this when I first started. Lucky for you, you were wrong." Except if it hadn't have been for Ranger, he might have been right. Ranger taught me some valuable tips of the trade while continuously keeping a close eye on me to make sure I didn't wind up maimed, mutilated, or dead. He probably deserved something for that. Maybe I'd write him a thank-you note. Wonder if Hallmark made a card for that sort of thing. Who was I kidding? Hallmark made a card for _every_ sort of thing.

The Hallmark card thought made me smile a little. "Roses are red, violets are blue. I'd be dining with Saint Peter if it wasn't for you." I wondered if Ranger would see the humor in it.

Speaking of Ranger, I probably needed to tell him about my new employment status as well. I had a feeling that conversation probably wasn't going to be pleasant. I could already see that "why do you always have to be such a pain in my ass" look furrowing his brow. Except I wasn't being a pain in his ass this time. In fact, it was kind of the opposite. He probably wouldn't even have to worry about keeping me safe anymore. The worst injuries I would have to fear working for Ben would be the occasional paper cut and the possibility of carpal tunnel. It was a win-win for everyone, wasn't it?

Lula stood from her spot on the couch, pulling me away from my unsettled thoughts. "What are we all hanging around this dump for? Who wants to go celebrate Stephanie's new job?"

Vinnie gave her a look. "You only get to celebrate if you bring in some decent skips. I don't run a charity here."

I raised an eyebrow. "Have you seen some of the people you bond out? Your sign might as well read Vincent Plum Charity Network." Connie smirked. I walked over to Vinnie, leaning dangerously into his personal space. "And I'll get Rocky. Not because I owe you anything, but because I don't like leaving a case unsolved."

"Good," he said taking a hesitant step back. Then his face tightened. "Get to work." He stormed back to his office and slammed the door.

Lula adjusted her clothes before heading for the door. "I don't care what that slimeball says. I'm gonna go get me a celebratory milkshake and bucket of chicken. You comin' hot stuff?" she asked turning to me.

Although I was excited to start a new job that came with a consistent paycheck and didn't require a pair of handcuffs or a hospital membership card, I was doubtful that anything could ever top milkshakes and fried chicken with Lula. It was one thing that I knew I was definitely going to miss.

As we reached the door, I watched in horror as Ben's loaner car suddenly erupted into a huge blaze of fire. I frowned as I watched it burn. At least nobody was in it. Still, the seemingly endless string of car deaths was one thing about this job that I definitely _wasn't_ going to miss.


	15. Chapter 15

I heard my phone buzz. It snapped me out of my car explosion daze.

"Yeah?" I answered. I had a feeling I knew who it was. Old habits and all that.

"Everything ok?"

I blew out a sigh. "I lost another one."

"I figured. Anyone hurt?"

"Just my reputation as a responsible car owner." Or car borrower…

"Babe."

"Think Ben will find this as amusing as everyone else?"

Silence on the other end. Yeah, I didn't think so either.

"I'll be by in a few to check it out. Any idea what happened?"

"One second I'm in the office as usual, and the next I'm watching a fiery inferno from the door. Probably someone's sending a message, but I haven't been stepping on a lot of toes lately. Think it could be Rocky?"

"Hard to say. I'll see what I can find out." The call ended.

Lula looked at me. "Batman?"

I gave another sigh. "Yep. He'll be by in a few. Looks like your car made it out of that ok."

"Might smell like a barbecue for a while though. And not the good kind. Think I should buy me some of those smelly trees?"

"Maybe. Probably couldn't hurt."

I watched as a couple cop cars and a fire truck pulled up outside. A familiar face hopped out of a cruiser, admired the wreck then shook his head in disbelief. He walked casually into the office and pulled a donut from the bag still sitting on Connie's desk.

"One of yours, Cupcake?" he asked.

"What gave you that idea?" I asked sarcastically as I walked past him to peek in the Tasty Pastry bag. Rats! None left. I reached for the donut in his hand, but missed. He took a few steps back, ate the donut in three bites then gave me a haughty grin.

"Must not be your day, Cupcake," he said still working on that last bite. I glared at him. Joe Morelli and I had spent a good portion of the last few years driving each other crazy. Both in good and bad ways. Somewhere along the way, our strange chemistry started to fizzle, and both of us seemed pretty comfortable with what was left over. We stopped frequenting each other's bedrooms and oddly started just being friends. It's not like we'd go grab a beer on Friday nights or anything, but I knew I could call if I was ever in a jam. And because we both still lived in Trenton, we continued to see each other on occasion. Like when another one of my cars exploded.

"I think having _you_ here is making it worse. Are you just gonna stand around harassing me, or are you actually gonna do your job?"

"Harassing you is more fun," he said with a grin. He glanced out the window. "You annoying anybody lately? Or was this more of an accident?"

"Hard to say."

"With you, it always is." He headed for the door. "Looks like Ranger's still got you on his grid. One of his black Explorers just pulled up."

Ranger acknowledged Morelli with a subtle head nod as he made his way inside the bonds office. Morelli paused at the door. "Good luck. You're probably going to need it." Ranger caught my eye. I could tell he was fighting a smile. It was kind of annoying that those two finally found something they could agree on. It was even more annoying that particular something was the realization that I was a walking disaster. I rolled my eyes.

Ranger looked me over. "Glad you're not singed or smoking."

"The day's not over."

He shook his head. "You seem to be taking all of this pretty well."

"What can I say? It's not my first rodeo." But my nerves were still a little raw. Nothing a little sugar couldn't fix. "You wouldn't happen to have a candy bar, would you?"

Ranger's mouth twitched. "Babe."

"Yeah, didn't think so."

Ranger shifted his weight a little. "The investigators think there was probably a remote detonator involved. Whoever did this was probably close by. I'll see if I can pull any security footage that might help us with an ID."

"Sounds like a good place to start. Anything on Rocky lately?"

"Nothing. The guy's smoke in the wind."

I leaned into him a little and lowered my voice. "Don't tell Vinnie. I kind of promised I'd bring him in before I started my new job."

Ranger gave me a look. "New job?" Shit. I hadn't meant for that to slip out. Well, not yet anyway. I still had a thank-you card to find. Oh, who was I kidding? I guess now was as good a time as any.

"Ben offered me a job. It pays better and I won't be dealing with low life scum anymore. You can finally retire from Stephanie Plum security detail." I tried to offer a smile, but it was half-hearted.

Ranger was obviously processing the new information, but it was impossible to tell how he felt about it. Given our conversation yesterday, I can't imagine he was overly thrilled. Maybe he was thinking I needed a refresher course on identifying those red flags he'd mentioned. But I was thinking _he_ might need a refresher course on not being paranoid.

"I've got some paperwork for you to go over in the car," he said taking my hand and pulling me toward the door. "Rocky-related stuff that could use a fresh set of eyes."

I raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said he was in the wind."

"Doesn't mean I don't still have some details to work with. May be grasping at straws, but it never hurts to keep things fresh. Just in case I missed something." It was a weird statement. Ranger never missed anything. He always knew if someone had been living at a house, whether they were packing heat, or what they had for breakfast that morning. Ok, maybe that last detail was just something he knew about me. It wasn't very hard to guess what I'd had for breakfast most days. Considering nine times out of ten it was a donut. Or three.

We made our way over to the Explorer and stopped at the passenger door. I watched Ranger make a very subtle glance around.

I started giving him a look. "Is something…" I didn't have a chance to finish the thought.

Ranger pinned me up against the Explorer and kissed me. It's always difficult to think with anything other than hormones when Ranger does things like this. Especially since the attraction is always simmering down there somewhere. No matter how hard I try to bury it. I guess I should cut myself a little slack. You'd have to be completely without a pulse not to find Ranger attractive. He'd probably even be sexy as a ghost. Still, I was kind of partial to his living, breathing form. It was perfection. In a dangerous and no-good-for-you kind of way.

He pulled back with a hint of a smile and opened the passenger door. I was still recovering from the kiss when he placed a file in my hand and wrapped my fingers around it.

"Some things to think about," he added quietly. I wasn't so sure we were talking about the paperwork anymore.

I sighed. "No kidding." Whoops. I hadn't meant to say that last thought out loud. Maybe I hadn't. The subtle twitch at the corner of Ranger's mouth didn't have me very convinced.

"Let me know if you find anything interesting." He paused before heading around to the driver's door. "When do you start the new job?"

"Probably tomorrow. I'll still be helping out around here a little until they can find my replacement."

Ranger nodded as he slid into the Explorer. "Hate to break it to you, babe, but there's no way anyone could ever replace you." He put the car in gear and drove off before I had a chance to respond.

I was working hard to convince myself Ranger had been referring to my overall competence levels as a successful bounty hunter. Yeah right… I sighed one more time for good measure as I watched what was left of Ben's fancy little car get towed away. Guess it was time to call Ben.


	16. Chapter 16

To say Ben wasn't exactly thrilled about his car's demise was a bit of an understatement. I thought it would be better to break the news to him in person, so I told him to meet me for lunch. It was probably a good idea too because even though his face turned a shade of red best known as rage and his jaw clenched so hard I thought it might snap, I think he was still holding back a little. Probably didn't want to make too much of a scene in public.

" _What_ happened to my car?" he growled after his blood pressure settled back into the non-stroke range.

"The police are still looking into the actual cause, but the whole thing just kind of went boom."

Ben's brows creased into a look I hadn't seen on him before. It was a little frightening. But then again, how had I expected this to go? I can't say I'd be too happy if the car I'd loaned to someone suddenly got engulfed in flames.

Ranger had graciously sent one of his crew by with a loaner vehicle, but it was just one more thing I wasn't sure how to explain to Ben. Eventually I settled on a decent lie: my insurance company gave me a loaner until everything was sorted out. All their regular cars were currently in use, so they gave me an upgrade. That just so happened to be black. With a few tastefully hidden weapons. Hopefully Ben wouldn't look too closely into that. I'm sure all the insurance companies in the area laughed themselves into a stupor anytime the name Stephanie Plum came up.

I guess I was so used to losing vehicles at this point that the whole process left me completely unfazed. Which is why I was a little bemused by Ben's reaction. He sat muttering curses and obsessing over the details. I told him it was probably just an angry skip with a dark sense of humor, but he seemed unconvinced. After the disaster lunch was over and Ben headed back to work, I started getting a funny feeling. Maybe it was possible that I hadn't been the intended target on this one. Maybe the car explosion had been meant as a message for Ben.

The thought was a little creepy. I wasn't sure how many people really knew I had been driving around in Ben's car. Maybe it was one of the companies he'd been negotiating with. Someone who thought Ben was screwing them over. Still, the message was a little extreme for a problem with business negotiations. I decided to wait and see what came back from the official police investigation. I'd hate to be wasting my energies worrying over nothing.

Ben stopped by the next morning in a slightly better mood. He carted in several boxes full of paperwork and gave me a quick crash course on the basics of data entry. It was simple enough. Probably boring as hell, but nothing I couldn't handle for the sake of a decent paycheck. It's not like I couldn't take a break here and there to interrupt the monotony of it all.

Too bad I'm way too good at taking breaks. It was only about an hour after Ben left when I decided my fingers needed to stretch. Best to stretch them outside too for the added benefits of fresh air. Before I knew it, I'd convinced myself to go on a little drive to the bonds office. Like a field trip of sorts. If anyone asked, I'd call it an early lunch break. Surely it was noon somewhere in the world, right?

Unfortunately by the time I arrived, Lula was already off on a solo skip apprehension quest-I made a mental note to check the news later to make sure all hell hadn't broken loose. And Connie seemed to be in a funk. Maybe she'd chipped a nail after a recent manicure. That always landed me in a foul mood. Or maybe it was just Vinnie breathing down her neck. Regardless, the bonds office venture was kind of a bust.

After a little chitchat with Connie, I decided my early lunch break was probably over. I made my way back out to my loaner vehicle and slid behind the wheel. I'd just adjusted my seatbelt when someone tapped on my window.

I rolled it down after my heart realized I wasn't being attacked by the bogeyman. "Can't you just call or something? I'm thinking all this jumping out of my skin all the time probably isn't so great for my heart."

Ranger shrugged. "I was in the neighborhood. Thought this might be easier."

"A phone call would have been faster."

He shrugged again. "You got a minute?"

Actually, no. I'd already wasted all my early lunch break time and probably all my bathroom breaks for the day too. If I wasted any more time, I might be on track for getting in trouble with Ben. He was my new boss after all. Maybe if I promised myself to work twice as hard tomorrow, it would make up for my lack of work today. Oh, what the heck. At this point, another minute or two couldn't hurt.

"Sure."

Ranger walked around to the passenger side and hopped in. "Find anything of interest in the file?"

"You _just_ gave it to me. Maybe I haven't had time to look through it yet." Does it ever occur to people that I might have a life?

"Babe." Apparently not.

"Ok, fine. Lucky for you, I decided to play Nancy Drew last night. But unlucky for you, I didn't find anything of particular interest."

Ranger looked over at me for a moment. I couldn't interpret the expression. Maybe it was what he looked like when he zoned out. Except I was pretty sure the mental gears were still shifting. And I'm almost positive Ranger is incapable of zoning out. His mind's all crazy efficient like that.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I finally asked.

"Sorry, what did you mean by 'nothing of particular interest'?"

"Might be nothing, but I noticed there was a neighbor on the footage. They were kind of off in the distance. Pretty hard to see. But it sorta looked from their body language like they were talking to someone. Could be worth looking into. Maybe they just like talking to themselves, or maybe it could have been something…important."

Ranger's mouth twitched. "Feel like playing Nancy Drew again tomorrow?"

I sighed. "Might be kind of tricky with my new schedule."

"I can take care of that if you're game."

The offer was kind of tempting. Spending hours on end filling out forms versus going around asking questions to find some new leads. I was definitely better at the latter, but to be fair, I hadn't given the data entry much of a chance. Maybe it could be fun? Yeah right…

"What do I tell Ben? I don't think he'll be overly enthusiastic about all of this."

"Got it covered."

For a moment I worried what exactly Ranger meant by that. He ran his own business though. Very successfully, in fact. Couldn't be anything too disastrous, right?

"Ok, fine I'll do it."

"That's the spirit, Nancy. Want me to drop by and pick you up tomorrow?"

The thought of the kiss from yesterday suddenly popped into my head. Being in Ranger's car was probably a bad idea.

"I think I can handle my own transportation, but I appreciate the offer. What time should I start questioning the neighbors?"

"Depends. Too early and you might piss people off. Go in late and you might miss whoever's already left for work. I'll let you go with your instincts on this one."

Great. My instincts were telling me I should probably stay home and do my data entry job. Too bad I've never really been good at following my instincts.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," I said putting the key in the ignition.

Ranger leaned over and kissed my cheek before hopping out of the car. "Later babe."

I watched him pull out as I scanned the radio for something upbeat to listen to. I wasn't sure why, but something definitely seemed off about Ranger lately. Of course, putting my finger on the "what" exactly was like trying to define the color purple: it was impossible to categorize, but you definitely knew it when you saw it. Considering how far behind schedule I was, I decided I'd leave the Ranger problem to worry about later.

To my complete astonishment, I was actually able to make a decent dent in the paperwork from the boxes by the time Ben showed up at my apartment for dinner. My fingers were practically falling off and my brain was numb, but at least the day hadn't been a complete waste.

"How'd it go?" Ben asked after greeting me with a slightly seductive kiss.

"Not bad," I lied. I felt terrible that I was already eagerly anticipating my Ranger-invoked paid time off. Hopefully Ben wouldn't take it too personally if I eventually confessed to him that I couldn't handle the cushy paperwork job.

"That's my girl." He eyed a take-out bag on the counter. "You even cooked. How thoughtful!"

I elbowed him in the ribs. "I probably _could_ cook, ya know. If I really wanted to."

"Yeah, but where would you live after your apartment burst into flames?"

"Ha. Ha." He pulled me into his arms and kissed me again.

"Speaking of flames, I got a call about the car today."

"Yeah?"

"Turns out it had some kind of tracker on it. Creepy, right?"

"Yeah…" Except I was pretty sure I already knew who had been tracking the vehicle. It was just one of the many Ranger Safety Precautions that I'd come to accept as normal.

"They think the tracking device was somehow connected to the detonator that caused the explosion."

"Wait…what?!" I sputtered.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out with all this. I just thought it might be a good idea for you to be in the know so that you're being a little more vigilant and cautious. Apparently someone had been keeping tabs on that car. Seems like they blew it to smithereens to send a message. The police are still looking into possible suspects."

"Oh," was all I could manage in response. It was true I'd been getting some strange vibes from Ranger lately. Especially after the big disaster with Ben's background check. But surely he wouldn't go so far as to… I just couldn't even see him doing it. No matter how much he disliked Ben. It was absurd. Wasn't it?

I ate my dinner in a bit of a haze, and Ben apologized multiple times for upsetting me. I tried to pass it off as being overly tired. Busy day and all. Not sure if he actually bought it. By the time I crawled into bed, I decided that I now had two reasons to play Nancy Drew in the morning. And one or both of those reasons was already giving me a sinking feeling in my stomach.


	17. Chapter 17

After going to bed, my mind was a jumbled mess of troubled thoughts, mixed emotions, and something slightly terrifying that I couldn't even put a name to. Which basically meant I didn't get much sleep. Once the sunlight started streaming through my window, I decided to throw in the towel and get an early start to my day as super Nancy Drew.

As I headed straight for the caffeine, I frowned at the box of paperwork still sitting on my kitchen table. Good thing I wouldn't have to worry about it today. After my coffee maker finished its brew cycle, I poured myself a heaping mugful and brought it along with me while I showered and got ready. With the night I'd had, I'd probably need at least a few more doses of caffeine just to survive the morning.

I was just about to rummage through my closet for some clean clothes when I heard my door open and shut. It hadn't been unlocked, so I had a pretty good idea who was probably waiting for me in the other room. Not really thinking, I padded out in nothing but my towel.

"What exactly did you think I meant when I said I had my transportation covered today?" I asked Ranger as I poured myself a fresh cup of coffee.

He did a very slow body scan from my feet to my face. I tried to act casual, but secretly I was already starting to panic. Big mental sigh. I was a certifiable mess. Maybe I could blame it on my lack of sleep. Good judgement goes away with that, right?

"A couple fleet cars are out of commission for some routine maintenance," Ranger explained. "Work's been busy and everybody's out doing their rounds today. I figured we could carpool."

"You can have my loaner back," I offered after a sip of coffee. "Just drop me by my parents' place, and I'll grab the Buick."

"Is sharing car space going to be an issue?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"No?" Probably. Still, I hadn't exactly meant for that to come out as a question.

Ranger gave me a look as he started walking toward me. I sucked in a breath when he cradled my face in his hand and ran a thumb gently across my cheekbone. How could something be so enchanting and terrifying at the same time? I took a moment to study his expression. Surely those eyes couldn't belong to someone who had just recently destroyed Ben's car. I simply refused to believe it.

"Rough night?" he asked with a frown. "You've got some pretty dark circles going on."

His hand was warm, and I could already feel myself starting to melt under his touch. On my best day, I needed a good twenty layers of clothing to survive being this close to Ranger without any hazardous repercussions. This was nowhere near my best day. And the towel I was wearing seemed to be dangerously close to abandoning its post as my protector. Traitor. Guess it was time for an emergency escape plan.

"Rex's wheel could really use some WD-40," I offered as I ducked under his arm and quickly headed back toward my bedroom. My heart skipped a beat when I heard footsteps following behind me.

"Give me a few more minutes, and I'll be dressed and ready to go," I said. Ranger brushed past me and hopped casually on the bed. He leaned back into the pillows, propped his hands behind his head, and gave me a playful grin.

"Take your time. I'm in no hurry."

I rolled my eyes. Just to play it safe, I snatched the first handful of clothing I could get my hands on then quickly darted back to the bathroom. Too bad I'd somehow managed to grab my super sexy push-up bra and a shirt that was a little lower cut than it should've been.

I peeked out the bathroom door hoping Ranger had given up lounging on my bed to be more productive in the living room or kitchen. No such luck.

"Babe."

"How about you go grab yourself a cup of coffee and I'll be out in a minute or two?"

"You're already dressed. Besides, I like this spot on the bed. Very comfortable."

I shot him an annoyed look then heaved a sigh. "Whatever."

I walked out of the bathroom with as much confidence as I could muster. All I needed was to make it back to the closet for a hoodie, and everything would be hunky dory. It was twenty steps tops. No big deal. I just had to avoid all eye contact for twenty steps. Piece of cake.

Except my damn curiosity got the better of me. I caught Ranger's eye as he blew out a soft whistle.

"Oh please. It's not even that big of a deal," I muttered as I crossed my arms over my chest. I quickly grabbed my hoodie and zipped it clear up to my neck.

Ranger hopped off the bed. "If that's the case," he said as he started slowly unzipping my hoodie, "you should probably leave this at home today. Heard it's supposed to be unseasonably warm." Being around Ranger was always unseasonably warm.

I yanked the zipper back into place. "Liar. You should try your wool-pulling on someone else. I've recently developed an immunity to all your little tricks."

There was a hint of a smile. "Yeah?"

Whoops. Apparently I was playing with fire. Or flirting with danger. Or tempting fate. Whatever cliché was most appropriate. Why did Ranger always have to be so exciting…and dangerous?

"You wouldn't be referring to these tricks, would you?" he said leaning down and kissing me. My mind short-circuited as my arms wrapped instinctually around his neck. He'd obviously called my bluff. So much for being immune to his tricks.

By the time my mind finally started semi-functioning again, the hoodie was long gone. Along with the slutty shirt. In a desperate attempt to escape Ranger's growing gravitational pull, I pushed back from him hard.

"Please just…" I frowned. "I can't deal with this right now." I grabbed my shirt from the floor and pulled it back over my head avoiding the gaze I knew was intently focused on me. I turned to head back out to the kitchen, but his arm reached out and caught mine.

I froze mid step and sighed. "We should probably get going soon. I'd hate to miss the opportunity to talk with that neighbor."

Ranger relaxed his grip on my arm then reached for something in his pocket. He walked over towards the bed and set what was in his hand on my nightstand before heading for the door.

"I'll go pour you some coffee to go."

I let out the breath I'd been holding and flopped onto the bed. The morning hadn't gone anything like it was supposed to. For some reason, Ranger mornings never did. And my lack of sleep was only making things worse. I needed to sweep things under a mental rug to process later and get myself back into investigator mode. We finally had a thread to follow on the Rocky case again, and if we weren't careful it would probably turn into another dead end.

I closed my eyes and envisioned myself finding Rocky. I watched myself drag him down to the police station, turn in the body receipt, and collect my hard-earned payday. Then I imagined myself on a beach somewhere sipping a fruity drink with one of those cute little umbrellas. It could all be mine if I was just able to buckle down and focus.

After a while, I started to sense someone was in the room with me. I slowly opened my eyes.

"I thought you said a minute or two," Ranger said offering me his hand.

He pulled me to my feet. "Yeah, sorry. I was trying to get in my Rocky zone, but I may have started dozing off in the process."

"Babe."

I rubbed my eyes. "I probably only got like ten minutes of sleep last night. You think I'll need to be coherent to talk to the neighbors today?"

Ranger shook his head. He wrapped an arm around me and kissed the top of my head. We walked back out to the kitchen, grabbed my coffee, and headed out the door.

Big surprise, I fell asleep on the drive over. In fact, I'd probably been snoring too because when I finally woke up, Ranger was watching me with a subtle smirk. Of course, it could have been that my hair was a disaster too. I pulled a hair elastic from my bag and put the frizzy mess into a ponytail.

"I thought we were going back to the Wankowski's," I said after a yawn.

"I parked a street over. You should probably go solo on this one. People seem to respond a little better to you sometimes."

I raised an eyebrow. It was true that Ranger could be both intimidating and terrifying. But I'd also seen him flip the switch to become Mr. Charm and Manners. People seemed to inherently trust Ranger, and unless someone was a threat to my safety, I'd never seen Ranger have a problem talking to anyone.

"Care to elaborate on that?" I asked.

"Maybe another time. The neighbor's name is Martha Wallander. As far as I know, she lives alone. She seems to like yard work and gardening, which is why she was probably out and about that morning we missed Rocky." He grabbed my bag and handed it to me. "May the force be with you, Nancy."

To join in on the mixed references, I did the Star Trek thingy with my hand. "Live long and prosper, Batman."

Ranger laughed out loud. I smiled back. "It wasn't _that_ funny," I said.

He reached across the car interior and grabbed my hand. "Babe, you just flashed me a gang sign. I think it means anything but living long and prospering." He straightened my fingers and separated them in the middle. " _That's_ the Vulcan hand sign."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, who woulda thought? I didn't realize you were a closet Trekkie."

"I'm not. Everyone knows the Star Trek hand thing."

I sighed feeling a little stupid. "Can't we just blame it on my lack of sleep today?"

"Sure thing, babe. Good luck."

I walked over to the neighbor's house feeling like my feet were made of lead. In retrospect, I probably should have stayed in bed this morning; put the whole Rocky thing on hold until tomorrow. Oh well. I was here, and it was time to do some digging.

I knocked on the door of an elegant two-story fairy tale home. The place even had a cute little porch and a small wooden swing. It was adorable.

Several minutes went by with no answer. "Mrs. Wallander?" I called. A little face poked out from behind an immaculately trimmed shrub on the side of the house.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked. Her hands were covered in fresh dirt, and she looked like she belonged in Mr. McGregor's garden.

"Yes, actually. My name's Stephanie Plum, and I'm looking into a small situation with the Wankowski's estate. It happened a few months back, and you might not remember anything from that day, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask."

"Sure, dear," she said. "As long as you don't mind talking while I finish repotting some of my plants."

"Not a problem." I followed her around back. Her little garden was completely enchanting. Normally I'm pretty content with the lack of living greenery in my life, but at the moment I was seriously wishing I had more of a green thumb.

"This is beautiful," I gushed. "You have a real talent for growing things."

Mrs. Wallander beamed back at me. "Thank you, dear. It's just a little hobby of mine."

I suddenly wished I had a hobby. Well, a hobby other than eating donuts.

She continued to repot her plants, so I proceeded with asking her my questions.

"The Wankowski's left on a cruise a few months back. They have a hired security company that was looking after some of their more valuable assets."

"The men in black, right?"

"Yes. They do have black uniforms."

"Oh, I remember _that_. I think one of their employees may have even mentioned the security breech."

I raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't happen to remember what he looked like, would you? Just a brief description with any memorable features would be extremely helpful."

She thought for a moment. "Other than the black, I don't really remember much. He had a black t-shirt, black pants, black shoes, and a black ball cap."

Well, that wasn't very helpful. "Do you remember if he had dark or light skin? Or maybe his build?"

"He wasn't super fair, but his skin was lighter. Probably had brown hair and an average build. Just a regular Joe really."

I was pretty sure if the man she was describing had been an actual Rangeman employee, he probably would have been bigger, but sometimes there were some smaller guys on the team. Still, there was no way I could make a positive ID from this description.

"He was really pleasant," Martha continued. "Oh, I almost forgot! He asked if he could use my shed for some equipment. You're welcome to poke around in there if you'd like."

I glanced over at the shed in the corner of her yard. "You're sure that's ok with you?" I asked.

"Oh, sure! Go right ahead, dear."

I went over and opened the door. It was full of gardening equipment and as organized as it could be considering the obvious lack of available space. I poked around a bit not really sure what I should be looking for. Probably something out of place. Of course, this was practically impossible for me considering I knew almost nothing about gardening. Guess I should probably ask the professional.

"Mrs. Wallander? Would you mind taking a quick look in here to see if anything looks moved around or unusual in any way?"

She joined me at the shed and peered inside. "Yikes. This is a real mess. Sorry, I shouldn't have sent you over here."

"No biggie. Notice anything?"

She glanced around. "It all looks pretty much like it usually does." She took a few steps inside and moved a few things around. "I'd say everything checks out…well, except…" There was a tarp covering a few things against a wall. "Normally I fold those up after rinsing them off. I don't know why I would have left…" She tugged on the tarp. It fell in a heap on the floor uncovering a beautiful impressionist-style painting.

"Well I'll be," Mrs. Wallander gaped. "How long do you suppose that's been hanging around in here?"

I had a feeling it had probably been there a few months. Probably since the Wankowski's left on their cruise. I carefully picked it up and looked it over. Whoever had stashed it here obviously knew what they were doing. There was a protective covering on the canvas to prevent any damage. It looked to be in pristine condition.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to take this with me," I said. Mrs. Wallander nodded. Then I had a really great top-notch brilliant idea. I fished through my bag for a scrap of paper and a pen then scribbled a little message. I placed it where the painting had been hiding and asked Mrs. Wallander to help me put the tarp back in place.

I thanked Mrs. Wallander for her time and assistance before heading back to the car. How Rocky managed to slip in and out of the Wankowski's residence undetected was still a mystery, but now I knew where the stolen merchandise had ended up. It was clever really. Moving everything just a few houses down. It was almost like hiding something in plain sight. Rocky's intelligence levels were really starting to worry me.

Ranger was sitting like a stone statue when I climbed in the car. "Are you on a stakeout?" I asked.

"Just staying vigilant," he answered before noticing what I had in my arms. "Where did you find that?"

"I'm pretty sure I found where Rocky stashed the stolen goods. At least for that heist. Sounds like he was impersonating a Rangeman employee."

Ranger took the painting and looked it over. "Still don't think Mac will ever do business with me again after how all of this went down, but at least he'll know I'm a man of my word."

"I think most people know you're a man of your word," I said.

"Reputations can be kind of tricky sometimes. Someone's been spreading some bad rumors about me and the company lately. Right now I could use all the positive opinions I can get."

"Really?" But who would do that?" I asked.

"Not sure exactly. I've got some theories. The clients have mostly been receiving false information by mail. No postmark. I'm currently working with a PI to see if we can trace anything."

"I'm sorry. I thought you said things had been busy lately."

"It has been busy, but that's because I had to reduce some overhead. We've lost a few clients, and I've been shaving expenses where I can to keep everything going."

"You could have told me," I frowned.

He shrugged. "What good would it have done? Just some added worry thrown in the mix. It wouldn't be very productive."

"Not everything has to run like a machine all the time," I said back. "Maybe you should change things up occasionally. Might be good for you."

Ranger's mouth twitched into a subtle smile. "I'll keep it in mind."

"What's the plan now?"

"I need to get this painting back to its owner, and I've got a few extra shifts to pick up. Some of the guys are taking some mandatory time off." He frowned.

I knew how much time and investment had gone into organizing and running Rangeman. It must have been really terrible to watch all that hard work get swallowed up in a potential collapse. If it did go under, Ranger would probably still land on his feet. He was smart and had connections. But the thought of his company practically disintegrating still made me sad. Hopefully everything would get sorted out long before that was a real possibility.

"You really can have the loaner vehicle back," I said. "And before you get all weird about it, it's not out of pity. Ben's getting a replacement vehicle later this week. I should be all set to go in a couple of days."

"I'll take it back with me after I drop you off." He paused. "Thank you."

"Ranger, it's _your_ car."

"No, thanks for…everything."

I smiled. "Glad I can help. Would you mind keeping me posted on the Rangeman situation? Maybe I could pick up a shift here and there if you need some extra help."

"No offense, babe, but you can barely manage _one_ job. I'd hate to see you trying to manage three."

I rolled my eyes. "I was trying to be nice."

Ranger put the car in gear. "Thanks."

The comment about Ben's car reminded me of the police report with the info on the tracking device and detonator. "Do you have different kinds of tracking devices at Rangeman?" I asked causally on the drive back.

"We have the basic ones and a few higher tech prototypes running through research and development. Why?"

"No reason." I paused. "What kind usually ends up in a Stephanie car?"

"Just one of the basic models. It transmits a signal that shows up in one of the Rangeman systems."

"So nothing fancy?"

"Nothing fancy. Did you want an upgrade?"

"Nope. Simple's fine. Actually…maybe you'd better not put one in Ben's new car. I think the explosion's got him kind of paranoid. He might freak out if he finds it."

"You sure?"

Actually, I wasn't really sure. With things still being all mysterious and little scary with Rocky, it probably wasn't a bad idea to have a constant marker on my location. Still, I didn't want any problems between Ben and Ranger.

"Yeah. I'm sure."

Ranger dropped me off at my apartment complex and headed back to Rangeman. I made my way up to the second floor and dropped my bag and keys on my kitchen counter before tossing some hamster nuggets into Rex's food bowl. I noticed a note on the table next to the box of paperwork.

I read it and sighed. Someone had made it through the _entire_ box while I'd been gone. I was kind of excited that I had the rest of the day to myself, but I also realized that I now had a bit of a Rumpelstiltskin problem. I was nowhere near good enough to make it through that much data entry in one day. Sooner or later Ben would find out the truth. Unless my magical merry men kept bailing me out.

After a sandwich, I decided it was time for a nap. I was just about to doze off on my bed when I noticed the object Ranger had placed on my nightstand. It was a small, folded piece of paper. My heart skipped a beat as I opened it. I was completely surprised to find that it was blank. After several moments of flipping it from front to back and squinting to see if I could make out anything, I decided to give up. It was something I'd have to ask Ranger about later.


	18. Chapter 18

A few months passed in that eerie, how-can-it-possibly-be-this-date-already kind of way. Ranger had made some stops by my apartment to keep me posted on the whole Rangeman situation, but even with his continued optimism, I could sense things hadn't improved much. Especially since I knew he spent most of his waking hours trying to problem solve running a company on a severely restricted budget. I continued to offer my help when I could, but he usually turned down those offers. Maybe it was a pride thing, or maybe he literally couldn't afford any more Stephanie car catastrophes.

To my surprise, Ben's data entry job wasn't quite as bad as I'd assumed it would be based on that first day. Of course, I was never able to complete as much paperwork as my little Rumpelstiltskin Rangeman crew, but Ben never really seemed to notice. He just kept bringing by more boxes, and I kept putting them in the computer. It was actually kind of a welcomed distraction from worrying about Ranger…and the still-unresolved Rocky situation.

After having the shocking realization that Ben and I had been dating for several months without even the slightest hint of a hiccup, I decided it was probably about time to drag him along to one of the Plum family dinners. Of course, when I told my mother I would be bringing someone new over, she'd already heard all about Ben.

Neighbors and relatives had seen us together, and like always, the news eventually got back to my mother. I found it somewhat strange that she hadn't brought it up before. After all, she probably had several months of dinners with me showing up alone when she could have interrogated me about it. When asked why she hadn't, she'd said she'd wanted me to tell the family about him when I was ready. Was it possible that my mother was done trying to meddle in my personal life? I was skeptical, but the thought was kind of nice.

Of course, this didn't prevent her from immediately giving me a lecture on how rude I'd been by not introducing Ben to the family sooner. Still, I think she was secretly a little relieved that this guy sounded a lot more normal than some of the others that had come to dinner. It was true. Ben really was great. He and I just seemed to go together. Peas and carrots style. Or maybe peanut butter and olives.

However, as great as everything continued to be with Ben, even after introducing him to the family, there was still something occasionally keeping me up at night. Mostly I thought it had to do with some underlying feelings that I still had for Ranger, but even that didn't always seem to fit. Something about my life felt off. Hopefully it was that things were finally starting to settle down for me. Or maybe it was me missing those adrenaline rushes from work.

I tried my best to shrug it off most days because as much as I hated to admit it, it was kind of nice being on the normal side of things for once. Normal boyfriend, normal job. Even my wardrobe was starting to look more like it belonged to someone in their thirties. Of course, my love of pastries and dessert would never be normal, and neither would my family, so at least those things would always be there to keep me grounded.

One morning I got up and looked in the mirror and gasped at my reflection. I'd had my hair straightened again for a night out with Ben and had apparently forgotten about it in my sleepy morning daze. The face looking back at me felt foreign and unfamiliar. I quickly threw my hair up in a ponytail and covered it with a ball cap. Then I dialed a number on my phone.

"You're up early," said the voice on the other end. "Everything ok?"

I slumped out on the couch. "I don't know. I saw something this morning and started to feel a little…worried."

"What did you see? Where are you?"

"I'm at home. And it's…it's not like that. I'm fine. I think I'm just being paranoid."

"You usually have pretty good gut instincts. I wouldn't ignore them if I were you." He paused. "You sure everything's ok?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine. Sorry I bothered you."

"Actually the distraction's kind of nice." There was a long silence on the other end. "I helped Ella and Louis find some new employment the other day. I'm renting out my apartment for a while."

"What?!"

"We're on a skeleton crew as it is, and I can't afford any luxuries right now."

"Where are you staying then?" I asked.

"With family. It's ok. I've been here before. Everything's going to be fine."

His words were still optimistic, but there was a subtle tone in his voice that betrayed some of his true feelings on the matter. It broke my heart.

"Are you at Rangeman?" I asked.

"For now."

"Don't go anywhere. I'm coming over."

As I gathered some things together, I thought about all the stuff that usually made me feel better when life really sucked. Most of it was sugar-based like birthday cake, brownies, Tastykakes, cookie dough, and my mother's pineapple upside down cake. None of that seemed appropriate for clean-eating Ranger. Shoe shopping was another cure-all for all of life's disappointments, but again, not exactly fitting for the man of mystery.

I tried to think of things that Ranger enjoyed. He liked his guns and gizmos, exercise in all its various forms, and combat strategy. Basically all things related to torture… And I guess he also liked me. He'd said in the past that he could always count on me to brighten his day. Of course, that was before I'd somehow morphed into this straight-haired stranger that appeared in my mirror this morning. Hopefully there was enough of the old Stephanie still hanging around to cheer him up.

After a quick shower and change of clothes, I hopped in my car and headed over to the seven story building that I'd somehow managed to take for granted as a semi-permanent fixture in my life. I sighed as I pulled into the garage. There wasn't a security camera to wave to today, and some of the cars filling the parking spaces weren't black. I had to do a double-take to make sure I was in the right building.

It was an odd change of circumstances. Usually I was the one just scraping by and Ranger was the one offering to help where he could. I have to admit, after seeing the garage, I was a little worried at what I'd find on the fifth floor. Fortunately, Ranger was waiting for me at the elevator door. I don't think he wanted me to have much of a chance to look around.

"Come on," I said grabbing his arm. "Let's get out of here for a while. I think you deserve a break."

He shook his head. "I really shouldn't. Maybe we could just go for a quick walk or drive somewhere. My desk is covered in things that should've been taken care of already."

I frowned. "Tell you what, how about we go grab some coffee first? Then I'll come back here and help sort through the desk problem."

He raised an eyebrow. "What about your big, bad boss and the data entry thing?"

"I decided to take a sick day. Now come on before I change my mind." I pulled him into the elevator and hit the button for the garage. He leaned back against one of the walls and casually crossed his arms across his chest. Even though I wasn't making eye contact, I could tell he was looking at me.

"Is the hair permanent?" he asked.

"No. Just changing things up a little." Actually I'd done it for Ben. He seemed to prefer my hair straight.

Ranger didn't say anything else on the matter. We stepped out into the garage, and I suddenly realized all the fancy, black Porsches weren't parked in Ranger's personal parking spaces. They had been replaced with a single, simple black truck.

Ranger stole a glance my direction. "Going back to my roots," he said.

I tried to smile, but my face was having a hard time cooperating. "Would you ever accept money from me?" I asked awkwardly. I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

"No."

"What if I bought your coffee today?"

He gave me a look.

"Oh c'mon. You can think of it as me returning one of the million favors you've done for me over the years." Yeah, like a few dollars would ever make a dent in how much I owed Ranger.

"Ok, you can buy my coffee."

"And I'm driving."

" _That_ you're going to have to do a lot more negotiating for."

I narrowed my eyes a little. "Can't you just let me drive for once? I'm not _that_ bad of a driver."

The corner of his mouth twitched a little. "Babe."

I elbowed him in the ribs then headed toward my car. "I'm going to grab some coffee," I called over my shoulder. "You can either come with me or stay here. Your choice." I worried for a moment that I'd be leaving in my car alone. Ranger could be just about as stubborn as I was.

Eventually I heard footsteps following behind me. Good. We both slid into the car.

"You're a dangerous woman," Ranger said.

"Only on special occasions," I replied with a smirk.

"What's the special occasion today?"

I thought for a second. "We're celebrating."

"Not a whole lot to celebrate these days, babe."

The statement made me frown. Then I came up with a funny little idea. "We're celebrating National Super Hero Day."

He looked over at me. "Oh, really?"

"It's real. Honest. You celebrate by doing good deeds for people and spending the day training like a super hero."

He sighed. "Wish I had more time to celebrate with you, but unfortunately I've got too much other stuff to do today."

"That's part of the whole good deed thing. I'm going to help you with all the Rangeman stuff. Then maybe you can show me how to scale walls with grappling hooks or something."

Ranger laughed out loud. "I haven't done that in months."

"Scale walls with grappling hooks?"

He smiled over at me. "No. Laugh." Ranger didn't laugh all that much anyway, so I guess I was a little surprised that he'd even noticed that he hadn't laughed in months.

We grabbed two coffees to go, and I took the slow, scenic route back to Rangeman.

"Is there really stuff I can help you with?" I asked after a long sip from my cup. "Or were you just humoring me?"

He kept staring out the windshield. "Honestly? Probably not very much. But I really do appreciate the offer. And the coffee outing. It was a nice surprise."

We rode most of the way back in silence after that. I had a feeling my plan to make Ranger feel better wasn't exactly working out as I'd planned. Eventually we pulled into the garage, and I killed the engine.

"See," I began in an attempt at humor, "we made it back all in one piece. I didn't even jump the curb on that tight corner at the drive thru."

Ranger's mouth twitched a little. "Top notch driving, babe. I'll keep you in mind in case I ever need a chauffeur."

I smiled back for a moment until my stupid emotions got the better of me. The threat of tears started to burn behind my eyes, so I turned away and pretended to be interested in something out my window.

"Steph?"

I quickly wiped my face. "You may want to leave soon," I started to sniffle. "I think I'm going to cry."

I saw his hand reach for me from the corner of my eye. He gently turned my face so I was looking at him.

"Why are you crying? I thought this was all going how you planned." He brushed a few tears away from my cheeks.

"I _planned_ on cheering you up today."

"What makes you think you didn't?"

"You don't look cheery. You look…tired. I didn't fix anything for you."

Ranger shook his head. "Babe, there isn't anything for you to fix. I have a business that's falling apart. How it ended up that way, I'll admit, is highly suspicious, but there's nothing to do right now except weather the storm and hope there's something left to salvage when it's over."

"And if there's nothing left to salvage?"

"I'll start over."

I grabbed a tissue from my handbag and wiped my eyes and nose. "Doesn't that scare you? Even just a little?"

"No."

I gave him a look.

"It would be scarier going through all of this alone. But I've had a lot of support lately. Even from some unlikely sources." He glanced over at me. "And there's this curly-haired brunette I know who's even gone so far as to invent a silly holiday to give me a good laugh."

I made a face. "Sounds like a complete dork."

Ranger leaned across the car and kissed me. Our eyes held for a moment when he pulled away.

"You figure the notes out yet, Nancy?" There was a subtle hint of mischief in his eyes.

"I thought you said you'd tell me what they said once it was important."

He shrugged. "I lied. You'll figure them out."

"And if I don't?"

He thought for a minute. "Maybe I'll be nice and leave you a clue."

I gave him an annoyed eye roll. "Why do you always have to be so cryptic?"

"Most women find it alluring," he said with a grin as he slid out of my car.

"I'm not most women."

"True. But I still think you like it a little. You enjoy solving puzzles. I think that's part of the reason why you still run around with me. You can't let yourself leave the man of mystery an unsolved mystery."

"I run around with you because despite being an annoying pain in the butt sometimes, I like you."

"I like you too, babe. Always have, always will." The look that followed that last statement made my stomach flutter. "I should probably get back upstairs. I guess I'll be seeing you?"

I nodded then watched him walk back to the elevator. My mind wandered for a few minutes back to the "notes" I had tucked away at home in my closet. Ranger was right about my interest-or maybe even slight obsession-with puzzles. I'd already spent a good amount of time researching coded messages and trying a few retrieval methods to decipher Ranger's hidden words.

Heat was out. I'd almost caught the blank paper on fire in desperation waiting for my stove to reveal its secret message. I'd also tried a magnifying glass to see if there was a microscopic message somewhere, but there hadn't been a single tiny word on the page. Ranger was sometimes a little too clever for his own good. It only strengthened my resolve to solve the riddles.

I made it back to my apartment and frowned at my door realizing there was still a decent amount of time left in my workday to actually do some work. It would have been so much more fun playing with grappling hooks and Ranger today. I sighed. Hopefully the Rangeman storm would be over soon.

I opened my door and jumped. Ben was sitting at my kitchen table next to a box of untouched paperwork. He didn't exactly look too happy when I walked in.

He stood and walked over to me. His eyes narrowed a little. "Where have you been?" he asked.


	19. Chapter 19

Shit. I slammed my palm against my head. "Oh my gosh! I am so, so sorry! I _totally_ forgot about the lunch meeting today."

"You _forgot_? How could you forget?" Ben asked as he headed back to the table. "I sent you a Google invite _and_ I watched you put it in your phone a week ago. What the hell were you doing all morning?" he asked setting his hand on the stack of untouched paperwork.

I pulled my phone out of my handbag. The stupid thing had obviously died. Probably because I forgot to charge it…again. "I…uh…I was helping out a friend. Got an emergency call this morning." I was too flustered to think of a better lie.

"So you just dropped everything and left? You know, in a normal job that would probably be grounds for termination. _Especially_ if you didn't notify your boss. And then missing an important lunch with a client? Not good, Steph. Really not good." Ben was running his hand through his hair like he wasn't sure what he wanted to do next.

"I really am sorry," I offered. "Want me to call and see if we can reschedule?"

Ben shook his head. "I just don't understand you sometimes. Here I give you this great opportunity, and you…I don't know. It's almost like you'd rather be doing something else. Maybe even with _someone_ else."

I raised an eyebrow suddenly wondering if he already knew about my morning with Ranger. I decided it was probably best to play stupid. "Why would you say that?

He shrugged then sighed. "You miss the whole bond enforcement thing, don't you?"

Not exactly what I had been expecting, but sure, I could work with this. "Sometimes. Yeah," I admitted.

"What could you possibly miss about it?" he asked in bewilderment. "Stephanie, you have a scar from an old bullet wound in your ass. You've had a number of deranged psychos after you who've all wanted you dead. That's _not_ a good line of work to be in."

As much as I hated to admit it, Ben had a point. I was suddenly reminded of all those conversations-ok, better make that arguments-I'd had with Morelli back in the day. I went and slumped on the couch.

"I think it's kind of like that one guy's law of motion," I finally said. Maybe it was time for a touch of good ole fashioned honesty.

Ben raised his eyebrow. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know, that whole thing about a body in motion tends to stay in motion?"

"Ok…"

"Well I'm kind of a body in motion. The whole data entry thing doesn't have a whole lot of movement involved."

"So you're saying you need a more _active_ job?"

I sighed. "I guess…I am."

He thought for a minute then looked at me and shrugged. "Ok."

"Ok?" I repeated completely shocked. "Just _ok_?" Where was the irate fire storm of yelling? Where was the "I can't do this right now" speech followed by the door-slamming break-up?

"Sure. I get it. Why didn't you say something to me sooner?"

Oh, I don't know. Probably because I was still thinking I was in one of my old relationships. The ones where I felt the need to tiptoe around what I was really feeling all the time to avoid the beginnings of World War III. Was this really how grown-ups handled things? They were honest with each other? Well, if I would've known it would've been that simple…

"I guess I just didn't know how you'd react, that's all."

Ben came and sat next to me. "I'm still not happy about the lunch you missed, but I think things are starting to make a little more sense now. Think you can hold out a little while longer with the boring data entry job? I've got a few more contracts to work through before things start to settle down again."

I nodded. "Of course."

Ben got up, but stopped again by the table. He tapped it a few times seemingly caught in an internal debate.

"Oh, what the hell," he muttered as he walked back over to the couch. "I was going to wait to surprise you with this later, but how do you feel about coming away with me for the weekend? I could really use a break from everything, and I feel like work's been so busy lately that I've hardly had a chance to see you. I think I could really use some Stephanie therapy."

Aww! Not only was I _not_ in serious trouble after the whole lunch meeting disaster, but Ben was asking if I wanted to play cute dating couple all weekend! When had my karma suddenly changed to include all of this? Who really cared, right? All I knew is that I was going to live it up while it lasted.

A huge smile spread across my face. "Where are we going?" I asked barely able to contain my excitement.

"It's a surprise," he said mischievously. "Here." He pulled out his credit card. "I still need to head back to the office to tie up some loose ends, but why don't you go find some fun stuff for our trip."

"What kind of stuff are we talking here? Am I going to need a ski jacket or a sun dress?"

Ben shook his head. "I'm not giving out clues. Let's just say we're not going too far away. Get something dressy, something casual, and something…" He pulled me onto my feet and into his arms. "Easy to take off," he whispered in my ear. "I think we should make good use of your whole 'body in motion' theory."

Whoa. I felt my knees get a little wobbly. I kissed him then leaned back to give him a salute. "Aye aye, captain," I smirked. "How long before our ship sets sail?"

"You've got a little over twenty-four hours, hot stuff. Think you can manage?"

Ha. Could I manage? The man just gave me a credit card and a reason to buy a whole new wardrobe. I was practically walking on sunshine!

Ben started heading for the door. "See you later tonight for dinner?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Sure. My place or yours?"

"Let's do mine. We can order in some Chinese or something. Enjoy a quiet night in."

"Deal." I kissed him again. "And Ben?"

"Mmhmm," he said sliding his hands suggestively along the curves of my hips.

"Thanks."

"For what?" His fingertips brushed the skin just under the hem of my shirt. It gave me an involuntary shiver.

"For just…being you."

Ben looked into my eyes. "You make all of this so easy," he smiled warmly. "I think it's because you're so…well, perfect. I love you."

Wow. _Love_? Is that what this was? I kissed Ben again to give myself a few extra seconds to think about it. It sure _felt_ like love. I mean, I loved eating with Ben, and I loved watching dumb movies with Ben; I loved sharing space with Ben, and I _really_ loved making love with Ben. From what I could tell, that was a lot of love. Maybe this _was_ the real deal. Love with a capital L. How exciting! And terrifying…

"I…uh…love you too, Ben." Crap. That sounded stupid.

Ben gave me a look. "You don't have to feel obligated to say that back, you know. Say it when you mean it. I'm not in any hurry."

I felt a bit relieved. What was my deal with that word anyway? I guess I had psychological issues with it. Probably had my ex-husband to thank for that. Maybe a few sessions with a therapist would cure me. Or maybe a few extra stops by the Tasty Pastry. Sugar therapy, real therapy. Basically the same thing, right? Something to consider anyway.

Ben glanced at his watch. "I've really gotta run. See you tonight, Steph." He quickly kissed my forehead then headed out the door.

I was still a little flustered by the whole "love" thing, but the credit card in my hand was a nice little distraction. I stopped off in the bathroom to touch up my makeup before heading out. Leaning near the mirror to add an extra swipe of mascara, I noticed something small and white on my shoulder. Great, another mystery note…

How did Ranger keep doing that anyway? Not only was he Batman, but apparently he was Houdini as well. I unfolded it and frowned. Like the other note I'd found, this little piece of paper was also blank. But this time there was a mini yellow sticky note folded inside. It had just one word written on it: purse.

I went back out to the kitchen and found my purse still sitting where I'd left it. I dumped the contents on the counter and poked through everything searching for…well, I didn't exactly know what. While I was searching, I started humming that "one of these things is not like the other" song from Sesame Street. Except it didn't help. Everything looked like it was supposed to be in there. Makeup, pepper spray, tampon, cuffs, wallet, chapstick, pen…wait. The pen didn't look like one of my usual junky ballpoints. And it was all black. Bingo!

I grabbed a notepad and started scribbling. Disappearing ink? Nope. I clicked it a few times, but nothing magical seemed to happen. It was just your typical, stupid pen. Darn. Here I'd found my clue, and it wasn't even helping me. In frustration, I tossed everything back in my bag. Including the mystery pen. I decided I'd mess more with the notes after my shopping spree. Maybe something at the mall would give me a sudden mental epiphany. If not, I'd just call Ranger and tell him I needed better clues.

I felt my shoulders sag a little. Ranger. Somehow I didn't think he'd be as excited as I was about my romantic getaway this weekend. I probably shouldn't mention it if I called. You know, just out of politeness and all. Besides, he'd probably give me another lecture on how I wasn't being cautious enough with Ben. But seriously, how much more cautious could I be? We'd been dating for months. It's not like I was going away with a total stranger.

Still, it wasn't sitting well with me that Ranger had never been a fan of Ben's. When I'd been seeing Morelli, Ranger hadn't exactly been a fan then either, but he never accused Morelli of being someone suspicious. Heck, he'd even said at one point that he was a good guy. He'd never offered similar sentiments about Ben.

Then again, something had felt a little off about Ranger ever since he'd gotten back from that trip all those months ago. And then all the crap happened with Rangeman. You couldn't really blame the guy for not having super refined bat skills right now. Plus, I was pretty sure some underlying jealousy was still floating around there somewhere. That had to be it. Good old fashioned jealousy.

Honestly the revelation didn't make me feel that much better about everything. Ranger was something caught between a really close friend and a romantic interest, and I didn't want him to be jealous. Or hurt. But the reality was that the concept of "us" wasn't really going anywhere. And I deserved the opportunity to move on with life, to be happy.

I glanced at the credit card sitting on the counter. I _was_ happy with Ben. Heck, I was probably even in love with him. We had something special, and dammit, I was tired of feeling guilty about it!

I gathered my things together after dropping a few hamster nuggets in Rex's food dish. Then I waltzed out the door feeling lighter and brighter. Watch out world: the not-guilty, probably-in-love Stephanie Plum is on the loose!


	20. Chapter 20

The mall was a bustle of people moving from store to store as I aimlessly wandered toward the food court. I'd probably been shopping for an hour, but my head was starting to hurt again. It was probably on overload from too many choices and colors. And stress. I'd been feeling really stressed lately. Everything was starting to get overwhelming, so I figured it was time to settle down with some comforting, greasy mall food.

I'd just started in on a basket of fries and a super-sized soda when I felt a sudden change in air pressure. I tipped my head back in my chair and came face-to-face with an upside down Ranger.

"Hungry?" I asked lifting a fry up to his face.

He gave me a slight upside down smile, and then…he _ate_ the fry!

He walked around the table and took a seat across from me.

"Someone must be in a good mood," I said before taking a sip of my drink. "What's got you all smiles and rule-breaking today?"

He shrugged. "Got some good news."

"Oh?"

"Just finalized a contract with a major client. Let's just say things are going to be a little less stressful at Rangeman for the foreseeable future."

I handed him another fry. "That's great! Here's to improved karma." We clinked fries together like champagne glasses. Now _that's_ what I call a toast.

I took another drink of my soda and winced a little. My headache was still bothering me.

Ranger reached across the table and took my hand. "Headache, babe?"

I nodded. "I think I've had it all morning. Maybe longer. And it seems to be getting worse."

He hooked his thumb with mine then squeezed the pressure point between my thumb and index finger. The pain subsided a little.

"That's a handy trick. Something you picked up while eating twigs and berries in the wilderness?"

He shook his head. "Not this time. Old family remedy. Feel any better?"

"For the moment. Want to walk around the mall squeezing my hand like that until I find what I'm looking for?" I'd meant it as a joke, but he seemed to miss the humor.

He shrugged and answered with a straight face. "Sure."

"Oh…well, I just meant…I was kind of kidding about the whole hand-holding thing."

Ranger gave me a look. "I know."

"Wow, you must be in a _really_ good mood. You're even cracking jokes."

"It's a hidden talent," he smirked.

"Well keep it up, and I won't even know what to do with you."

His eyes got a little darker. "I've always got a list of suggestions."

Yikes. "I should probably get back to my shopping quest," I said trying to change the subject. "You know what they say about no rest for the wicked and all."

"Are you sure you'll be ok on your own?" Ranger looked unusually concerned.

I raised an eyebrow. "It's just the mall. I'm sure I'll be fine."

Ranger got up and gave me an uncharacteristic hug. "I'm always right here if you need me," he said before pulling away. Then he was gone.

I got up and dumped my trash. There went Ranger being all weird again... It was really starting to bug me. Then my head started hurting again. Maybe it was time to just call it a day. I'd find what I was looking for later.

I made it back out to the parking lot and reached in my pocket for my keys. Except I don't usually keep my keys in my pocket. They're usually buried under everything at the bottom of my purse. Which would explain why what I pulled out from my pocket wasn't my keys. It was a diamond engagement ring. Oh no…

I slammed my palm into my forehead and sighed. This was probably the source of my recent headache. Well maybe the ring _and_ the face-palming. Ben's romantic weekend getaway had ended with a proposal. The ring sparkling in the sunlight seemed to suggest that my answer had probably been a "yes."

My ongoing fear of commitment might be a possible reason why the ring was currently hiding in my pocket instead of resting securely on my finger. Or maybe I was already getting cold feet. Hard to tell. All I knew for sure was that everything was starting to get out of hand; all of this was a great, big, giant mess. And as usual I was caught right smack-dab in the middle.

I made my way home and slumped on the couch. Hadn't Ben _just_ said that he loved me? Like less than a week ago? And a few short days later we were _engaged_? How did _that_ happen? I think all of it was really starting to get to me because I couldn't really remember saying yes. How romantic, right? I wondered if panic-induced amnesia was a real thing.

As if on some weird cosmic cue, Ben suddenly walked in the apartment. He dropped another box of paperwork on the kitchen table then caught a glimpse of me slumped on the couch.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

" _Major_ headache," I said rubbing my forehead.

He made his way towards the bathroom and brought me back some pills and a glass of water. "Take these. They'll make you feel better."

"Thanks." I leaned back and closed my eyes. "Ben?"

I could hear him rummaging around in the kitchen. "Yeah Steph."

"Are we really engaged?"

I heard footsteps coming back toward the couch, and a hand suddenly slipped around mine. I squinted my eyes open a little.

"Are you having second thoughts?" he asked looking a little concerned.

"More like intense headaches. Think that's a bad sign?"

"I think you're wanting to go through with this, but something's holding you back. Want to talk about it?"

Ah, Ben. Always being the sensible, easy-going one. No wonder I wanted to marry this guy. He seemed to somehow balance out all of my crazy.

"Thanks for not freaking out," I said with a subtle smile. "I'll let you know if I think there's something to talk about."

I took a deep breath then exhaled slowly. My headache was already starting to feel a little better. And the next thing I knew, I was out like a light.


	21. Chapter 21

By week three of wedding planning, I had a newfound hatred for the color pink accompanied with the onset of a permanent migraine. How on earth had I survived all of this with my first wedding?

Ben was watching me from across the kitchen table in quiet amusement. "Steph?" he asked.

I looked up from a stack of notes piled on top of two dog-eared bridal magazines. "Yeah?"

"I think you just added salt to your cereal."

"Oh, ok," I replied as I absentmindedly shoveled a spoonful of cereal into my mouth then quickly opened it and let everything fall back in the bowl. Blech! Why was my cereal salty?

Ben chuckled softly to himself before I finally registered the conversation and shot him a death glare. He turned a bit more serious. "I think you need to take a break from all of that. Maybe get some fresh air."

"I can't," I sighed. "An article in one of these things said I should've been planning our wedding since I was five. I've got like thirty years of planning to make up for."

Ben shook his head. "We don't really need any of this, do we?" He opened one of the magazines. "What the hell kind of color is eggplant anyway?"

I glanced at the page he was looking at. "I think it's a shade of purple maybe. Eggplant's totally trending right now."

"Do we care what's trending?"

I gave him a pathetic look. "Maybe?"

"Stephanie, I love you. I want to marry you. It's as simple as that." He tossed the magazine across the living room.

"Hey…I still need that," I scowled.

Ben knelt down. "Do you love me?"

Umm…. Pretty sure. I mean, the odds were pretty good, right? "Yes?"

"Then let's just skip all the hullaballoo and get married in Vegas."

" _Vegas_?"

"It's all right there. No fuss, no muss. Then we can blow all our money on a fantastic honeymoon in the Caribbean."

Well… I had to admit, the thought was a little tempting. I mean, I'd kind of already done the big, fancy wedding before anyway. And it hadn't made a difference in how things turned out with _that_ groom. Maybe Vegas _was_ the way to go. Plus I liked the idea of a no-expense-spared honeymoon. Sandy beaches, exotic drinks, and 24-hour room service? It was the dream vacation I'd been fantasizing about! _With_ the added bonus of a husband.

Ben pulled me onto my feet and wrapped his arms around my waste. "Whatdya say, hot stuff? Vegas or bust?"

I thought for a moment. What if I regretted all of this later? What if I got all embarrassed telling our kids about this one day? _Kids_ …yikes!

"How about I mull it over for a day? Make sure it's a decision I can cope with."

Ben shrugged. "Seems fair. And maybe even a little sensible. You feeling ok?" I gave him a look. Then he kissed me. The look was over.

"I've gotta head over to the office," he said pulling away. "Want me to bring something back for dinner later?"

I felt my eyes light up a little. "Yeah, actually. What was that salad we had the other night? It sounds really good!"

"You mean the one from that Thai place?" he asked. I nodded. "Thai salad it is then." He kissed the top of my head, grabbed his coffee, and left.

I walked over and picked up the bridal magazine still lying crumpled on the living room floor. Had I really just requested a _salad_ for dinner? And was I seriously contemplating a wedding in _Vegas_? On a weird scale, that was probably measuring a nice, solid seven. Could be all of this was what real adulting felt like. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I would know. Maybe Ben had been the catalyst that finally pushed me over the edge into adulthood. Or maybe something hinky was going on. Guess I'd better keep a closer eye on that weird scale.

Eventually I decided that as long as I didn't have any extraterrestrial visitors, things were probably in the normal zone. Maybe a weird normal, but nothing to get worked up over. After all, weddings were completely normal. The salad thing maybe not so much.


	22. Chapter 22

I _did_ end up having a visitor later, but fortunately for my sanity levels, it wasn't from an extraterrestrial. It was from Ranger. And the jury's still out on what classification he falls under. But I'm mostly sure it's not alien.

I was putting in some data for Ben when I heard the lock tumble on the door. I glanced up as Ranger casually walked in. He was in his all-black Rangeman uniform and carried a bag of take-out. For a moment, I worried that the take-out might spoil my dinner, but then I remembered I was having a salad. Probably needed the extra calories anyway just to keep up my energy levels.

Ranger sat in a chair next to me and slipped his hand in mine. "Still getting headaches?" he asked.

"Sometimes," I admitted digging into the bag. Yum! Meatball subs. "Things still looking good at Rangeman?"

"For now. We've got a ways to go before everything's back to the way it was before. Some recoveries take longer than others. But I'm optimistic."

I reached for a napkin, and Ranger's hand caught mine mid-motion. His eyes zeroed in on the ring.

"What's this?" he asked holding my hand up.

"Uh…"

"Stephanie, what do you have on your finger?" His face was calm, but his words were dark and agitated.

"Ben and I…," I pulled my hand away. "We're getting married."

Ranger looked like I'd shot him with his own gun. "You can't," he said quietly. "What about…" He trailed off.

"I can. And I am," I said. "I just…I need to be with him."

"Stephanie Plum," Ranger said, his voice steady and a little forceful. "Don't do this. I'm not… You can't… _I_ need you."

I let out a huge sigh. "No, you don't. Everyone just _thinks_ they need me, but look at you. You're fine on your own. Vinnie's fine on his own. Everyone's fine. Everyone but me. _I_ need to be with Ben. It's just easier that way."

"It's _not_ easier. And you know it. You're just tired of fighting everything. _Don't_ take the easy way out, Steph."

I started rubbing my forehead again. "You're giving me a headache," I frowned.

"Are you sure?"

"What do you mean? Of course I'm sure. I didn't have a headache before you came, and now I have one again." And I felt like I was starting to get double-vision. "I think maybe you should go."

"If I go now, I'm not sure I'll be coming back," he added quietly.

"So _that's_ how it's going to be?" I blurted feeling my blood start to boil. "Then get out. I don't deserve this. You had your chance. Just let me go already, Ranger! Just…let me go."

I felt Ranger's hand squeeze mine. "You figure out the notes yet?"

I shook my head, my eyes still closed tightly. "I'm tired of the notes. I don't even think I want to read them anymore."

Ranger leaned down and kissed my cheek. "Read the notes, babe. Sooner would be better than later. If not for me, then do it for you."

"Just go," I pleaded as I slumped in my chair again. When I looked up, Ranger was gone.

I felt frustrated and angry. People were always telling me what to do. Ben was _my_ decision. He was the one thing in my life that I still felt like I had a say in. And here Ranger comes storming in telling me not to marry him. Tells me it's the "easy way out." Ben _is_ easy. But I deserve easy, don't I? I deserve to be happy. Dammit! Why doesn't anyone want me to be happy?

I stormed through the apartment and started tossing things in a grocery bag. I tossed in anything and everything that reminded me of Ranger. Which happened to be quite a lot, actually. More than would fit in one bag. In fact, the whole _apartment_ reminded me of him. I decided I'd just move in with Ben when we got back from Vegas.

Vegas. I hopped on my laptop and booked a hotel and two tickets to Nevada. Then I called Ben. "Pack your bags," I said on his voicemail. "The soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. Johnson leave for Vegas in less than 24 hours."


	23. Chapter 23

_After Stephanie's flight from Vegas lands in Jersey_

I woke up groggy and disoriented. From what I could tell, I was still in Ranger's car, and last I knew, we were still heading back from the airport. Funny. I thought with everything that had happened, I would have slept longer.

"Where are we going?" I asked sitting up a little.

"Home," Ranger answered.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"A while."

Ok, Mr. Cryptic. I tucked my legs beneath me in an attempt to get comfortable. Unfortunately, comfortable was practically impossible. In fact, I must have slept funny on the plane because my whole body ached. Maybe I was coming down with the flu. You know what they say about airports…

We drove in silence for several more minutes.

Finally, Ranger turned and looked at me. "You read the notes yet?" he asked.

"Geez! What's with you and those stupid notes?"

I thought I saw a brief moment of worry in his eyes. "I thought that's why you called."

"I _called_ because I overheard Ben say something that scared me, and I wanted to go home."

Ranger turned and looked at me. "What did you hear him say?"

I paused. "I can't remember." My skin suddenly felt cold. I went to adjust the temp controls in the car, but the air didn't feel any warmer. "I think something's wrong with the thermostat in your car."

Ranger gave a slight head nod. "I'll look into it."

"Aren't you cold?"

"I'm fine."

"Is there any particular reason why you're being even less chatty than usual?"

He looked over at me again, his expression serious. "I didn't want you to start panicking."

"Why would I start panicking?" The air in my lungs started feeling a little heavier. Whatever Ranger was trying to keep from me, I had a hunch I already knew about it.

"Because of Ben." Ranger looked concerned.

"What did you find out about Ben?"

"It's not what I found out, babe. It's what I couldn't find." He reached over and held my hand like he was about to tell me that I had cancer.

"Ranger, you're really freaking me out. What's going on?"

He shifted in his seat. "What does Ben look like?"

I thought for a moment. "He's kind of average, I guess. Brown eyes, brown hair. Kind of hard to pick out of a crowd."

"Any distinguishing features?"

"I guess not, why?"

"You ever meet his family? Any friends?"

"Maybe… There was that one time… I don't know. I've kind of had a hard time remembering things lately."

Ranger pulled the car over to the side of the road. "What do you know about me?"

"What?"

"List the things you know about me."

"Ok… Your name's Ricardo Carlos Manoso. But you prefer to go by the name Ranger that you picked up during your time in special forces. You're my age. You have an ex-wife and a daughter. You used to work as a bounty hunter for Vincent Plum, but now you co-own a security company known as Rangeman. Your personal apartment's on the seventh floor of the company building. You have silky, dark hair, brown eyes, and skin that looks like dessert."

Ranger's mouth twitched a little at that last statement. "Know anything like that about Ben?"

"Of course," I blurted. Except I didn't. _Why didn't I know any details about Ben?_

"Still doing ok?"

"No. Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"It's in the notes. You just need to figure out what they say."

I reached for my purse on the floor. " _Fine_. But I can't figure out how to use that black pen."

I handed it to Ranger. He twisted it at the middle, and a purple light came out the back. Black light. Clever.

The notes were buried at the bottom of my purse. In the end, my curiosity just wouldn't let me throw them out with all the other stuff I'd tossed from the apartment. Ranger was right. I couldn't let a mystery go unsolved.

I carefully unfolded the note from the restaurant in New York. Nothing appeared when I used the black light on it. "There's nothing on here," I said.

Ranger glanced over at it. "Save that one for last."

I pulled out one of the blank pieces of paper. The black light revealed an eerie, ghostlike message. "It's time to…" Butterflies were starting to do a dance in my stomach. I felt like my body was being pulled in five different directions, and my head was starting to hurt again. I wasn't so sure that I wanted to open that last note anymore.

The car felt like it had suddenly shifted into warp drive. I looked over at Ranger feeling waves of panic and fear. "Slow down," I pleaded. "Slow down, or we're going to crash."

"I can't. You're driving."

"Wait, what?" I noticed my hands were suddenly white-knuckling a steering wheel. _What the heck?_ I turned to Ranger terrified. "Help me, please!" I started to cry.

"I'm here, Steph. I'm _right_ here. Open the last note. You've _got_ to open it. Please, just trust me on this."

Tears were blurring my vision, but I managed to open the small, white paper anyway. The black light illuminated two words just before the car spun out of control. Glass shattered everywhere around me, and suddenly everything went white. I kept seeing those two words over and over in my mind. _Wake up_.


	24. Chapter 24

I heard some clanging around in the kitchen as I was tossing the last remnants of my closet in a box.  
Then Lula poked her head in the doorway.

"Girl, did you know that you only have like two pots, a toaster, and a fry pan out there? Where's the rest of all your kitchen gadgets?"

I sighed. "I think I was in a phase."

"You mean like a no-eating phase?"

"More like a no-cooking phase. Kitchens and I have always had one of those love-hate relationships. I love to eat, hate to cook. For whatever reason, I don't think I ever learned how to use a kitchen properly."

Lula shook her head. "And this coming from the girl who grew up in the land of Domestics R Us…" She paused for a moment then worked a wry smile across her face. "Wanna take a cooking class sometime? You know, like part of this 'whole new you' exercise?"

I shrugged. I'd been out of the hospital for a few weeks, and I was still trying to figure out how best to move forward with everything. It was proving to be a little trickier than I'd initially expected. But then again, I'd never taken a ten-month sabbatical from life before either. Something like that had "weird" and "complicated" written all over it.

I followed Lula out to the living room and glanced around. All my major furniture pieces had already been moved out, which made the space feel particularly gutted and empty. It was strange in an "end of an era" kind of way. But then my gaze settled on the window, and I felt reassured in my decision to move.

Lula caught me looking around. "You need a break?" she asked. "We don't have to do all this right now if you're not up for it."

I shook my head. "I'm fine. It's just a little weird still, I guess."

"Yeah. I could see that. Guess it's not every day you get pushed out a second-story window."

I felt my body shudder a little. It was the story I was still having a hard time coming to terms with. According to my medical report and the visits with my new mental health therapist, my recent ten-month hospital stay had been the result of a fall from my second-story apartment window. The police report confirmed that it wasn't an accident.

I'd been searching for an FTA for work, and I'd had eyes on him the morning of the incident. He'd been seen at a pawn shop on 10th, but apparently he gave me the slip and I was unable to make the apprehension. Best guess on details from that moment on was that I'd headed home. The skip was waiting for me back at my place.

Some of my neighbors heard a scuffle, and then the whole window thing happened. I came out of it with several broken bones, three surgeries, and a ten month nap. I guess my FTA hadn't been so lucky. Rocky came out of it with a broken neck and a severed spinal cord. No hospital stay necessary.

The recovery process has been a lot more challenging than the others I've had in the past. I think it's because I don't trust myself like I used to. My mind tried to fill in some of the blanks while I was "napping," and it's hard to tell sometimes what part of my memory is real and what isn't. I jot down stuff I'm not sure about in a notebook and bring it along to my therapy sessions. It helps a little.

"Anything else needing to be boxed up?" Lula asked as she tossed some cleaning supplies from the counter into the kitchen box.

I shook my head. "I think that's just about everything."

I walked back to my room and grabbed the box from my closet. The room was almost as empty as the day I'd moved in. And I was pretty sure the girl with all the moving boxes wasn't even the same person anymore. I glanced around and gave a nostalgic sigh before running into something just outside the bedroom door. Make that _someone_.

"Better let me get that," a familiar voice offered, taking the box from my arms.

I narrowed my eyes a little. "I think I can manage carrying a box. It's not even that heavy."

"I know." But he didn't give it back. Instead he disappeared out the main door and down the hall.

Lula came back in a few minutes later. "When did Batman show up?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"You think you two can manage things from here? I got a date in a few hours that I wouldn't mind some extra time to get ready for."

I smiled. "No problem. Thanks for all your help."

Lula hugged me on the way out the door. "Let me know if you're serious about that cooking class. I got me a chef's hat for just such an occasion."

I shook my head. Lula in a chef's hat might be worth the humiliation of a group cooking session. Something to think about anyway.

I grabbed my purse off the counter and pulled my keys out to lock up. As I closed the door, I sensed someone standing behind me.

"Think you'll miss this place?" I asked feeling myself getting a little sentimental.

Ranger shrugged. "Maybe a little. But all my favorite memories are tied to the tenant, not the location."

I raised an eyebrow and smirked. "What about the shower curtain rod?"

"Oh, don't worry. I brought that along to the other place."

My eyes widened. "You didn't!"

"For posterity, babe." He grinned and kissed my cheek.

I read on the police report that Ranger was one of the first people at the scene of my accident. No big surprise there. The guy was always showing up when I was in trouble. Although I think this time was a little different. I think he blamed himself for not realizing how dangerous Rocky was. And for not being there in time to prevent my fall.

He'd just returned from one of his mystery trips, and he probably had a lot on his mind. Obviously none of the Rocky accident was his fault. But of course that wouldn't keep him from absorbing all the guilt.

As penance for not being the ultimate super human, Ranger spent the next ten months paying for my hospital bills and visiting me every chance he got. Even toward the end of my stay when things weren't looking all that good. I still wonder what super powers he had to summon during that time to keep from having a complete mental breakdown.

The day I was released from the hospital, one of my nurses pulled me aside to give me something. It was this simple shoebox for an off-brand pair of running shoes.

I glanced at it uncomfortably. "I really appreciate the gesture," I frowned, "but these aren't my size."

She shook her head and smiled at me like I was a silly child. "Open it," she said grinning.

I lifted the lid of the box. It was full of hundreds of small, folded pieces of paper.

The nurse gave me a guilty look. "I hope you don't mind, but I read a few of them."

"Oh." It was all I could think to say. I opened one. "Tiramisu Gelato," it said. I opened another. "Lonnie Dodd." I pulled out a handful. "Boston Creams. Hawaii. Bulgari. Goldilocks. _Babe_."

"What are all of these?" I asked.

The nurse shrugged. "I'd find them tucked under your hospital ID bracelet, so I started putting them in this box for you. Every time I took one out, a new one would appear shortly after in its place. I'm assuming you know what they mean. Most of them are just a few words."

I _kind of_ knew what they meant. And I had a pretty good idea who they were from. They were mostly memories, favorite things, and maybe a few sentimental quips thrown in for good measure. It was like little pieces of my identity all jumbled together in a box. Like it held the essence of Stephanie.

I spent the next several days reading through the shoebox of notes. Some made me chuckle; a lot of them made me cry. I made a pile of my favorites and read through them again after I'd made it through all the others.

One message made it into the mix several times, and I had a feeling its repeat appearance had nothing to do with a lack of ideas on what to write. Maybe Ranger figured this message had to be sent several times in order to guarantee its delivery. Like it was somehow vital to my recovery that I knew and comprehended the words written on that small, folded piece of paper. And maybe it was. Words like that had a power all their own.

Ranger stopped before unlocking his car. "Were you supposed to go with Lula?" he asked.

"I think that was the initial plan." I saw a subtle hint of disappointment in his eyes. "But then you showed up, and she decided she wanted some extra time to get ready for a date. So I'm all yours."

The disappointment vanished and was replaced with a subtle grin. "Babe."

We hopped in the car, and Ranger immediately grabbed my hand, his fingers linked securely with mine. It felt necessary, like he was afraid that if he didn't hold some part of me that somehow I'd slip away. He brought my hand up to his mouth and kissed it.

"It's ok, you know," I said quietly as I watched the scenery pass by out the window.

He glanced at me. "What is?"

"You don't have to worry about me every second of every day. I'm not going anywhere."

There was a barely audible sigh followed by a long pause. "Maybe, but I've got a pretty vivid ten-month reminder that might suggest otherwise."

We pulled up to a familiar seven-story building and parked in the garage. Ranger grabbed the two boxes from the back, and I followed him to the elevator.

"You're sure about all of this?" I asked once the doors closed behind us. "I mean, I'm kind of a mess right now. I come with scars, a therapist, a journal, and a head full of jumbled nonsense. Probably not the best list of qualifications for a roommate."

Ranger stopped the elevator and put the boxes on the floor. He took my hands in his and looked at me so intensely that I almost melted right there on the spot.

He shook his head. "I don't want a roommate. I want _you._ " His eye caught a glimpse of something in one of the partially-opened boxes on the floor. He picked it up and handed it to me. It was the shoebox from the hospital.

"I want the woman that all of those little pieces of paper belong to. All the moments, all the memories. I fought for ten months against something pulling you away from me, and the moment you woke up, I promised myself I'd never let you go again. Because even with all the bumps and bruises, the therapist and the mental mess you're still sorting through, at the end of the day, you're still the girl I met in the café. The girl I fell in love with. And I'm still not sure I even deserve you, but all I know is that…I just…I can't _anything_ without you."

I felt my eyes getting a little teary. "Wow," I whispered.

A soft smile spread across his face. "Some speech, huh?"

I wiped at my eyes. "I'll say."

He kissed me then shrugged nonchalantly. "I've had over ten months to work on it."

I shook my head as he hit the button on the elevator to resume our journey. We came to a stop on the seventh floor. As we stepped out of the elevator, I stopped suddenly and glanced back when I realized Ranger hadn't grabbed the boxes.

"Aren't you going to get those?" I asked.

"Nope," he said scooping me up in his arms. "I'm afraid my hands are already full."

I laughed. "You have no idea."

He kissed me again as we walked through the door. I was so distracted by all the romantic gestures that I almost didn't notice everything gathered on the countertops and side tables. The place was practically overflowing with flowers, cards, and other assorted well-wishes. Not to mention a large box of donuts.

Ranger set me on my feet. "Guess everyone's in agreement: the world just wouldn't be the same without Stephanie Plum."

I turned and flung my arms around him. "Thank you," I said softly, "for _always_ coming to my rescue."

He pulled back and smiled. "My pleasure. Welcome home, babe."

 _**Side Note: There is an alternate ending to this story. If anyone's interested in reading it, I'll post it when I've had a chance to proofread it and clean it up a little._


	25. Chapter 25

_****Alternate Ending***** This takes place after chapter 19, so I'd recommend rereading that chapter first. Enjoy!_

I'd like to say that the weekend with Ben was perfect. And I guess the trip itself kind of was. Ben surprised me with an adorable ocean front vacation rental in Point Pleasant. Something nearby and simple. It was charming and cozy and pretty much the perfect escape from all the pressures and stresses of everyday life.

We spent our days sleeping late, dining out, and walking the boardwalk. It was all so relaxing and fun that I almost didn't know what to do with myself. I half expected our car to explode or bullets to start whizzing through the air just to balance out all the peace and calm. But like I said, the trip itself was pretty much perfect. It was the shit storm at the end and the aftermath that followed that really kind of tarnished the whole experience for me.

A few days after the trip, Lula sat on my couch with a bag from the Tasty Pastry. She was watching me pace while absentmindedly flicking a spring that was now poking through the upholstery.

"You gonna sit down already or what?" she asked. "If you keep moving like that, I'm worried you'll wear a hole through the floor."

I sighed. "Sorry."

"I think you need to come sit on this torn up shrink couch and tell Doc Lula what's got you in such a state."

I raised an eyebrow at her then sighed. "You're positive you wanna hear all this? I'm pretty sure it's even crazier than my usual drama."

Lula sat back in the couch obviously making herself comfortable. She pulled out a donut and took a huge bite. "Ell yesh," she said with her mouth full. "Your life puts all them daytime soaps to shame."

Ugh. She was totally right.

I leaned up against the kitchen table. "So everything pretty much started with my weekend away with Ben. He took me on a cute getaway to Point Pleasant, and everything was going great until our last evening there. We were heading back to our little rental place after a nice dinner out and a sunset walk along the surf when I noticed some lights flickering on inside."

"Someone broke into the place while you were out?" Lula interrupted.

"That was my first thought too. So before Ben had a chance to stop me, I barged through the door and managed to knock over a couple lit candles on a side table that was sitting a little too close to the entryway. They somehow caught the low-hanging drapes on fire, and without even thinking, I yanked them off the wall to try and put out the flames."

Lula grinned a little. "So _that's_ why you're sporting the new hairstyle."

I rolled my eyes. "The ends got a little singed while I was trying to keep the flames at bay." I shrugged. "I was due for a trim anyway."

"Uh huh."

" _Anyway_ by the time the fire was under control, I finally had a chance to take a look around. There were rose petals and candles _everywhere_."

"Say what?" Lula exclaimed leaning forward on the couch. "Are you…?"

I pulled the ring out from my pocket and showed it to her.

"Shee-it! That thing's _huge!"_ She gave me a look. "Why aren't you wearing it? Bling like that's not supposed to be livin' in no pocket."

"Lula," I started, "I said _yes_."

She gave me a confused look. "Ain't that what you're _supposed_ to say? I mean you two have been dating for a while now. And you love him, right?"

"I think so."

"Then what's the hang-up, girl?"

Something. It was small and barely noticeable, but something was definitely keeping me from feeling 100% sure about all of this. And I'll be damned if I knew what it was. Oddly enough, that wasn't the reason I currently had my engagement ring in my pocket.

"The long story continues: so Ben and I make it back from the trip and head over to my place only to find that _it's_ been broken into. My door handle's busted and the whole place is a disaster. I'm sure you noticed my lovely new decorating scheme."

Lula glanced around. "Huh. I thought maybe you had Officer Hottie's dog over for a visit or something."

Bob was Morelli's dog that was a bottomless pit cleverly disguised as a shaggy, lovable golden retriever knock-off. He ate _everything_. So I could see the reasoning behind Lula's assumption about my trashed apartment. On any other day, it might have been the truth.

"Nope, some creep trashed the place while I was gone. Didn't touch the bathroom or bedroom, but the kitchen and living room were a total mess. We called the cops, but I've got a pretty good idea who's behind it all."

"You're thinking it's that Rocky guy, aren't you?"

I nodded. "But I have no idea why. I've left that case alone for weeks now. This is totally out of the blue. I mean seriously, what the hell?"

"What does the break-in have to do with you not wearing your ring?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Who do you think would also be worried about a break-in at my place?"

"Mmm…gotcha," Lula said nodding. "Batman dropped by."

"Bingo."

"He not too thrilled about your new little fashion accessory?"

Yeah. I'd say that was the understatement of the century.

"Ranger showed up the next morning. I filled him in on everything I knew about the break-in before we started going through the place looking for anything left behind by my mystery guest. Nothing turned up, so I started making some coffee. Then Ranger told me he had some good news. I'm not sure how much you know about the whole Rangeman situation, but it hasn't been all that good lately."

Lula nodded. "Connie told me. Said there was some bad rumors circulating about the company and some big clients had cancelled their contracts."

"Yeah, well the good news was that Ranger's mysterious business partner showed up and saved the day with some security program modifications and upgrades along with a stack of new clients in the area who were all very eager to try out the innovative software and systems. Ranger thinks everything should be back up and running like it used to in just a few weeks."

"Wow. Good for Batman. Got any idea who his partner is?"

"Superman?" We both chuckled a little. And then I remembered where this whole story was going.

Lula saw me frown. "When did he notice?" she asked.

Probably the moment he set foot in the door. He's never been one to miss a whole lot. Thinking back now, he was probably waiting for me to say something about it the entire time he was here. He's always waiting for me to make that first move.

"He didn't say anything about it until he was getting ready to leave. He was almost out the door when he turned and said that it looked like he wasn't the only one with big news."

"Uh oh."

"Yeah, uh oh. To be honest, with the whole break-in situation, I'd almost forgotten about the weekend with Ben. And the ring."

"Really?" Lula asked. Ok, maybe not _really_. A ring like that's kind of hard to forget. "What did he say?"

I gave her a look. "Lula, it's Ranger. He could probably teach a course on how to effectively use the one-word sentence."

"So, what? He said 'babe' then left?"

"Something like that." Except it was _nothing_ like that. Ranger had said a lot more than just "babe," but I wasn't sure I was ready to share that whole conversation yet. Probably not even with my best friend Mary Lou. It was all still too raw and painful. And it was the reason the ring was currently in my pocket instead of on my hand. I couldn't bear to look at it. I felt the tears start to well up in my eyes again.

Lula reached into the Tasty Pastry bag and handed me a donut. "Shit. Looks like you're gonna need this. Think this could be one of them breakthroughs people have at them therapy sessions?"

I took the donut. "More like a break- _down_ ," I thought. "Thanks for this," I said taking the donut and simultaneously dabbing under my eyes.

"No biggie. But I'm still not seein' what you're all worked up about. Honey, you're gettin' hitched!"

I polished off the donut. "Yeah," I sighed. "Hitched."

"You probably just got too many hormones goin' on right now. Maybe a little bit of that cold feet stuff too. Give it a day or so, then you'll probably be goin' all bridezilla on everyone. Don't worry, I got a feeling you'll make a great bridezilla."

"Thanks," I said not really sure if I should be flattered or offended.

Lula glanced at her phone. "I got me a hair appointment here soon. You want the rest of these?" she asked handing me the bag of donuts.

"Couldn't hurt."

"Don't go getting' all hung up on Ranger, Steph. He's probably just coming to terms with you movin' on and all. Kinda weird that he didn't see it coming though. What do you think's up with that?"

I had a few guesses, but I kept them to myself.

Lula gave me a hug. "See ya, Steph. Give me a call if you need to talk some more."

"Thanks." I glanced at her hair. "You changing the color or the style today?"

Lula winked. "Both. I'm feeling like bein' blond again. Ya know, cuz blonds have more fun. Maybe you should try it sometime. Just for kicks."

I gave her a weak smile. "Something to keep in mind."

"Later, girl," Lula said as she sauntered back to the elevator.

I closed the door and sighed. The therapy session with Lula hadn't been as successful as I'd been hoping at cheering me up. Probably because this recent snowball of problems I was having was in a class all its own. And I had a feeling it would take something a lot stronger than my usual sugar therapy to get through it.

As I went back to taking inventory on all my broken furniture and appliances, I kept hearing snippets of things replaying in my mind.

 _Wake up, Stephanie…_

 _I've been right here…_

 _You're making a choice…_

 _I can't just stand by…_

 _If you want me gone, I'll go…_

That was it. He was gone. And this time I knew it was different. This time I knew he wouldn't be coming back.

Although the words weren't expressed as such, I'd basically been given an ultimatum. And I _hate_ ultimatums. Especially when they make me feel backed into a corner with no way out. Ranger's no fool. He knew exactly what he was saying. But for whatever reason, I felt like he'd expected an entirely different response.

That's what was making everything so difficult. At that moment I watched him go somewhere I'd never seen him go before. Somewhere dark and terrifying. Somewhere sad. And I'd desperately wanted to take back everything I'd said. But I couldn't. We both knew I'd already made my choice.

"Damn," I muttered wiping my eyes again. Everything was such a mess. Suddenly my phone rang. I answered it without even looking at the caller ID.

"Stephanie Plum, it's your mother. Do you have something newsworthy that I should know about?"

Gosh. How _did_ news travel so fast around here? It was almost scary.

"Mind if Ben and I come over later? I'll fill you in on all the details then."

There was some silence on the other end, and I knew my mother was weighing her options. She wanted the details _now_ , but if I hung up on her in a huff, she might have to get everything secondhand. I heard her sigh in resignation.

"Dinner's at 6:00 PM. Don't you dare be late."

"Got it."

"And Stephanie?"

"Yeah, Mom."

"Congratulations, sweetheart."

The call ended, and I was once again left all alone. With nothing but my thoughts and growing guilt to keep me company.


	26. Chapter 26

The dinner that night with my family was awesome. And by awesome, I mean it was a complete disaster. I was still riding the emotion-laden guilt rollercoaster, and Ben had seemed to be in a bit of a funk ever since we'd gotten back from the trip. Needless to say, neither of us were really up for playing twenty Plum questions. Then again neither of us wanted to invoke my mother's wrath either, so we begrudgingly showed up at my parents' place at about two minutes to six.

Almost the second we walked through the door, my mother dropped about fifty bridal magazines in my lap and promptly asked if we'd settled on a date. A _date_? I was still wondering how I felt about wearing the stupid ring. Honestly, there hadn't been much mental or emotional energy left for deciding anything else.

Following dinner as I got whisked away by the women in my family, I watched Ben take a seat in the living room. Lucky duck. The men would probably share five words about the whole engagement story then promptly settle in for some bonding over the current televised sporting event. Life was so unfair sometimes.

And what did I get to do? I got to go in the kitchen and debate color schemes, cake flavors, venue possibilities, and the number of bridesmaids I wanted. And the absolute worst part? I'd already done this before!

I'd played the whole wedding game and married a man who still made me roll my eyes whenever I thought of him. Sometimes I try to convince myself that we were really in love, even for the briefest of moments before my scumbag of an ex-husband thought it would be a good idea to start cheating on me. But I'm not really sure if it was ever _true_ love. I mean, we cared about each other, sure. But love involved something deeper, something almost intangible. A feeling of fulfillment and completion. I snuck a peek in the living room and wondered if Ben felt all of that with me.

"You two planning on starting a family soon?" my sister asked, pulling me away from my deep thoughts.

"Haven't discussed it yet," I answered honestly.

My mother raised an eyebrow. "Better talk soon. You aren't exactly getting any younger, you know."

Aw, gee, thanks Mom. Nothing like a not-so-subtle reminder that your biological clock is ticking.

"Looks like he's got some good genes to pass along," Grandma Mazur cut in. "And the baby _making's_ the fun part," she added with a wink.

I sighed. "Let's just focus on the wedding for now, ok? We'll leave that other stuff for awkward family conversations down the road." Everyone laughed like I was joking. Oh, the joys of family…

"Well, that was fun," I said as Ben and I got in the car later to leave.

Ben gave me a look. "Is this the 'root canal' type of fun or the 'poke-a-blunt-object-in-your-eye' type of fun?"

I laughed. "Oh, c'mon. It wasn't _that_ bad."

"Stephanie, your brother-in-law asked if he could throw me a bachelor party. I was afraid to ask what he had in mind because I almost wondered if it might involve the ball pit at Chuck-E-Cheese. How on earth can he possibly be the father of _two_ children?"

"One of life's great mysteries, I guess." I turned and watched Ben for a minute. "You still want to do all of this, right?" I asked kind of quietly.

Ben glanced over. "You're not getting cold feet already, are you?"

A little. "Nah, it's just all this wedding stuff gives me a headache."

"I know what you mean." We both sat pondering that for a moment. "Tell you what, let's have a backup plan. If things start getting too out of hand with all the wedding planning, we'll just sneak off to Vegas and elope. How does that sound?"

Why hadn't I ever thought of that? Oh yeah… Probably because my mother would kill me. She _loved_ all the wedding planning crap. And she'd be absolutely pissed if I deprived her of _any_ of it. She'd probably even go so far as to refuse cooking me desserts for the rest of my life. Some things in life I'm willing to sacrifice for the greater good, but I wasn't sure my mother's pineapple upside down cake was one of them.

"I'll consider it," I replied. And I would too. Because even I had my limits where ruffles and lace were concerned.

A week passed, and things kind of settled down from our overly-eventful weekend. My phone was still ringing constantly from assorted gossips and well-wishers who'd heard from so-and-so that little Miss Stephanie Plum was _finally_ tying the knot…again. I mostly ignored the calls. Probably would have to change my number soon.

Out of politeness-and maybe a _little_ curiosity-I cracked open a few of the bridal magazines my mother had sent along with me. Everything looked so magical and picturesque. It was almost disgusting. And definitely _not_ me.

I guess this time around I just wanted everything to be simple. Simple dress, simple ceremony, simple cake… Ok, I didn't want a simple cake. I wanted a _giant_ cake with _lots_ of frosting. After all, this was wedding cake here. You didn't get to eat that stuff every day.

My sister, Val, dropped by one afternoon with a tentative Plum-side guest list from my mother along with a few color swatches and some bridesmaids dress suggestions. I thanked her and managed to keep the colossal eye roll from escaping until she was distracted by one of her kids.

"Were you planning on having more than one flower girl?" Val asked. She obviously assumed I'd be choosing a candidate from her ever-expanding collection of girls.

"I'm not sure. Maybe we'll just skip the whole flower girl thing."

Val looked horrified. "But what about all those adorable pictures with the flower girl and the bride? You know, the ones where the little girl is staring up at the beautiful wedding dress or where she's trying on the bride's shoes that are ten sizes too big or where she's glaring at the little ring bearer because he's obviously got cooties."

"Those would all be great," I started, "but I think I kind of want things to be simple this time."

"But what about the album? It'll be sitting on your coffee table the rest of your life. You don't want boring pictures in it, do you?"

"I did the whole album thing last time."

"And then you burned it."

I gave her a look. "For good reason."

"Ok, you might have a point. But this is the start of your _new_ happily ever after. Don't just do things halfway because you're a little intimidated by all the details. That's what I'm here for. And Mom. And Gram. And half the women in the Burg."

I sighed and muttered, "That's what I'm afraid of."

Val was too preoccupied to notice. Her newest baby had just spit up on her shoulder.

"You got a wipey somewhere?" she asked as she hastily dumped the contents of my purse all over the counter.

I went to the sink and grabbed her a wet washcloth. "Sorry," I said handing it to her, "fresh out of wipeys."

She shrugged. "This'll work." She finished wiping off her shoulder as best she could then grabbed my moisturizing lip balm off the counter. "My lips are so dry these days. I tell ya, breastfeeding really does a number on you."

I shrugged having nothing really to say on the matter. Val started putting everything back in my purse. She paused when she came across the black pen.

"Why do you have this?" she asked.

"It was kind of a gift, I guess." Actually, I'd sort of forgotten I had it.

"I saw them at one of those weird novelty stores in the mall. I was looking for something for Albert, and I liked the look of these pens, but seriously, who needs a pen with a black light?"

 _Black light! Clever._

"How do you turn it on?" I asked.

She twisted it, and a little purple light clicked on in the back. I wanted to slam my palm into my forehead. I was so oblivious sometimes.

"Well, I should probably be getting back to work here," I said gathering up my nieces and ushering them all to the door. "I'll look over the guest list and the bridesmaid dresses."

"Okey doke," Val said with a smile. "Call if you need anything."

I almost slammed the door in my haste to get everyone out of the apartment. I ran back to the bedroom and rummaged through my closet for the cryptic notes. Good thing I'd kind of forgotten about them with the whole Ranger fiasco because in my frustration I might have tossed them or burned them or done something else drastic.

I grabbed the pen from the counter and turned it on. The note from the restaurant in New York didn't have anything in mystery ink on it. The regular pen must have simply died, and the message had never been completed. Too bad. I'd probably never get to know what it said now.

The other two blank notes sat on the counter. I opened one and held the pen light over it. "Do this anymore," it suddenly read. Okay… Strange message. The next note wasn't any better. "I can't," suddenly appeared on its white surface. "I can't do this anymore." Well, damn. I'd been given pieces of a breakup note, and I hadn't even noticed. Except that didn't make any sense. What was the deal with the ultimatum then?

I went and slumped on my bed. The message seemed pretty straight forward. "I can't do this anymore." There wasn't a whole lot of room for ambiguity. Maybe it had been part of the whole ultimatum. "I can't do this anymore, so make up your damn mind and pick someone already." And I had. I'd picked Ben. Because Ranger wasn't really even a choice.

In a flash of frustration, I crumpled up the notes and threw them across the room. I was mad at Ranger for making me choose, but mostly I was just mad at myself for letting things get like this. If long term had never been an option for us, I should have stopped everything way back at the seductive looks stage. It was horribly childish not to. I knew the occasional fling would never be enough for me, but I'd gone ahead and fallen in love with him anyway.

Ranger's promise from long ago still echoed in my mind. He _had_ ruined me for all other men. But Ben was obviously a good consolation prize. He treated me well, and he even loved me. We had a real shot at being happy together.

I leaned back in my pillows. Surely I'd made the right choice, right? Because from where I stood, there wasn't really even a choice. If I wanted the commitment and the possibility of forever, then there really was only Ben.


	27. Chapter 27

By week three of wedding planning, I had a newfound hatred for the color pink accompanied with the onset of a permanent migraine. How on earth had I survived all of this the first time?

Ben was watching me from across the kitchen table in quiet amusement. "Steph?" he asked.

I looked up from a stack of notes piled on top of two dog-eared bridal magazines. "Yeah?"

"I think you just added salt to your cereal."

"Oh, ok," I replied as I absentmindedly shoveled a spoonful of cereal into my mouth then quickly opened it and let everything fall back in the bowl. Blech! Why was my cereal salty?

Ben chuckled softly to himself before I finally registered the conversation and shot him a death glare. He turned a bit more serious. "I think you need to take a break from all of that. Maybe get some fresh air."

I leaned forward like I had a secret to share. "She'll know," I said in a forced whisper.

My mother had been giving me "wedding homework" every few days since the engagement announcement. And the woman was even dropping by periodically to make sure it was getting done! How did she manage that, you might ask? By using my one true kryptonite against me: dessert!

She'd stop by with some fresh-from-the-oven ooey-gooey slice of who-knows-what that would still be wafting delicious warm oven smells. My eyes would almost instantly glaze over. Then she'd sneakily pull out a checklist or a dress idea or a venue possibility and would refuse me a single bite until I'd agree to look things over. She was definitely playing dirty these days. And I had a hinting suspicion that she was keeping me on a tight schedule so I wouldn't have time to rethink all of this and back out of everything. I've kind of been known in the past for getting cold feet.

"I think your mother would understand if you took a break."

I gave Ben a look.

"Ok, you can blame it on me. Say I forced you to take a break because I was worried about you."

I sighed and dropped my head in my hands. "I don't even _like_ eggplant," I sighed. "As a vegetable _or_ a color. But it's totally trending right now."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Do you care what's trending?"

"No!" Maybe a little.

"Then what's the problem?"

"A meddlesome mother and a whole community of people who can't mind their own business."

Ben got up and walked over to where I was sitting. "You know, the offer still stands."

I looked up at him. "The offer?"

"Yeah. Maybe it's time to reconsider eloping. I hear Vegas is pretty nice this time of year."

I had to admit, the whole Vegas wedding idea was becoming more appealing by the minute. It'd be quick, simple, and fun. And it would conveniently eliminate things like guest lists, dove releases, and anything remotely related to the word eggplant. Of course, it would also probably mean the end of pineapple upside-down cake as I knew it.

I sat nibbling a nail debating everything. The return of relatively normal sanity levels versus my mother's desserts. It was like debating a lifetime of donuts versus a lifetime of birthday cake. How is one supposed to even make that decision? Then I had a fleeting moment of brilliance.

"Ben, I don't think we've been making the most of your cooking capabilities. How would you rate yourself in the baking department?"

He shrugged. "I guess I do alright. Why?"

"I'll make you a deal. If you can produce a decent pineapple upside-down cake, a batch of double-chocolate chip cookies, and a chocolate cake from scratch I'll agree to go with you to Vegas."

Ben got a mischievous smile. "Wow. That's kind of a lot to ask of a guy. _Three_ desserts?"

"Unfortunately, those are the terms. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Take it or leave it, buddy."

I resumed looking over my notes as Ben disappeared down the hall. He returned several minutes later with his car keys, a grocery list, and a smile.

"Challenge accepted," he said as he kissed the top of my head and disappeared out the door.

Turns out Ben's not half bad at baking. His cookies were so good that they almost didn't even make it into the oven. And his pineapple upside-down cake would make any Burg housewife proud. It would never be my mother's, but after some careful consideration, I decided I could deal. We polished off seconds on dessert then sat around Ben's laptop and booked a hotel room and two roundtrip tickets to Vegas for the upcoming weekend.

Ben made a few calls for work and managed to organize a little extra time away from the office. Then he surprised me with the printed confirmation for a honeymoon package that took place on an island in the Caribbean. I could hardly believe all of this was happening

I did a mental sigh before climbing into bed. Guess this was it. The real deal. And at this point, I really felt like there was no turning back.


	28. Chapter 28

_After the flight back to Jersey (Follows chapter 1)_

I woke up in a strange bed and a strange room. My suitcase from the trip to Vegas was leaning up against the nightstand. I took a quick peak under the covers. Still wearing the dress I left in. Interesting.

I swung my legs out of bed and took a moment to look around the room. On second glance, I definitely knew the room I was in. I hadn't recognized it at first because the décor was different than the last time I'd been in it.

My phone buzzed off in the distance startling me. I pawed through my purse on the floor and managed to find the phone just before the call went to voicemail.

"Hello?" I answered.

"You up for a late lunch?"

I glanced at the clock on my phone then rubbed my eyes. "Only if it includes coffee."

"Babe." The call ended.

I grabbed some clothes from my suitcase and changed in the bathroom. Then I slowly made my way out to the kitchen. It was quiet and empty. I took a seat at the table and started sorting through the dozen unopened text messages on my phone. There were also seven missed calls.

Several minutes later I heard the door open, and Ranger walked in with a tray of food. His eyes caught mine for a moment and I felt my cheeks warm. This whole thing was kind of awkward.

He set the tray on the table and took a seat next to me. "Sorry about the sleeping arrangements. I wasn't sure where to take you when you passed out in the car."

I took half a sandwich from the tray and the travel mug of coffee. "The new décor was a little confusing to wake up to. When did you decide to redecorate?"

"After things started settling down with Rangeman, I figured I probably didn't have to bunk with family anymore. I looked at a few other places, but I guess this apartment kind of feels like I belong here. It's got some good memories."

I paused mid bite. "Mmmhmm."

"When I was moving everything back in from storage, I thought that it might be a good time to change things up a little."

I finished the sandwich and sipped at the coffee. Then I zoned out while absentmindedly drawing circles on the table.

Ranger shifted slightly in his chair. "I hate to bring up the elephant in the room…but…are you married?"

I glanced up and shook my head. "No. I'm _supposed_ to be. But I'm not."

There were several beats of silence. "What happened?"

"I think Ben may not be who I thought he was."

This is probably the point in the conversation where Ranger should have jumped in with an "I told you so" remark, but he didn't. He just sat there quietly. I always knew he was a smart guy.

I started playing with the ring on my finger before sliding it off. "Why don't these things ever work out like they're supposed to?"

Ranger reached over and touched my hand. "Because."

I shook my head and smiled a little. "You can redecorate all you want, but there's no doubt in my mind that the cryptic Batman still lives in this cave."

Ranger's mouth twitched a little. "Stephanie, I…"

Suddenly my phone rang interrupting whatever Ranger was about to say.

I didn't answer it, but it reminded me that I needed to get back to my place to start sorting things out.

"Mind taking me back to my apartment?" I asked getting up from the table. "I have like a million phone calls to make then I think I'll be ready to bury my head in the sand. Of course that'll all be after I beg Vinnie for my old job back. Sounds fun, huh?"

"What about your thwarted groom?"

"I…don't know. What are you supposed to do with a person you left at the almost-altar?"

"I'd avoid him. Give him some time to cool off."

"Something to keep in mind."

We pulled up to my apartment complex twenty minutes later. It looked the same as when I'd left it.

"Thanks for the ride," I said as I got out of the car. "And for the plane ticket…and…everything."

Ranger looked at me for a moment. "What happened to the money from your data entry job?"

I frowned. "I'd transferred the bulk of it into Ben's account before we left. We were going to add my name to his account once we were legally married. He's probably not going to let me have that money back, is he?"

"I wouldn't count on it."

"This day just keeps getting better and better," I sighed.

"Want me to walk you up?"

"No, I think I need to do this walk of shame alone."

He gave me an understanding look. "Call if you need something."

I nodded and started making my way up to the second floor. The elevator stopped with a rickety shudder, and I dragged my suitcase down the hall to my door. I dug out my keys and opened the door.

The place was a mess! Good thing Rex was on a mini vacation with my sister and her girls. Someone had broken in…again! _And_ they'd literally torn the whole place apart.

My kitchen cupboards were off their hinges, there were holes in some of the walls, and even the living room carpet was torn up. What the hell? The place was like a last-minute renovation project gone horribly, horribly wrong.

I poked my head outside my door to make sure I was in the right apartment. The door _said_ 215\. Maybe I'd crossed into the Twilight Zone. I was just about to head downstairs to tell Dillon about the break-in when I felt a hand grab me from behind followed by a sudden jolt of electricity. Then everything was lights out.


	29. Chapter 29

I woke up tied to a chair and in a very pissy mood. In less than 48 hours I'd managed to run off to Vegas, ruin my own wedding, fly back home on a friend's dime, have my apartment broken into for the millionth time, and get my neurons scrambled by some highly concentrated electricity. Somebody better call Guinness. I think I just broke the world record for rotten luck.

After a few moments of self-pity, I decided to take inventory of my situation. Hands were bound. Feet were bound. Tape over the mouth. And of course the chair thing.

My assailant could be heard off in another room. Things were clanging and clattering but in a somewhat reserved manner. Probably didn't want to attract the attention of the neighbors. Someone was obviously looking for something, and I'd been foolish enough to drop in on the search party.

"Mmmmm!" I called. I at least wanted to know who was responsible for all of this. Even if they decided to off me in the end, I wanted this one mystery solved.

A familiar face appeared from the hall. My eyes widened.

"MmmMmm?" I asked.

"Hey Plum," he said dumping my bathroom waste basket contents on the floor in front of him. He picked through them a little then frowned. "Your apartment is full of junk. Not a single thing of value anywhere."

I glared at him.

"I thought at least you'd have more paintings lying around. Or jewelry. Or _something_. But there's nothing! How do you even live like this?"

It was true. A lot of my valuable things had been hocked during slow times at the bonds office. It kept life simple, I guess. Not that I didn't _enjoy_ high end things. It's just my line of work coupled with my inability to keep a car longer than a few months didn't really allow for such luxuries.

"Guess it's not a huge deal since the real object of interest you probably didn't even know you had."

I raised an eyebrow waiting for him to continue. Rocky didn't seem to notice. He just continued searching through things.

"Barney's not gonna like all this," he muttered to himself.

 _Barney?_ Who the heck was _Barney?_

"Mm Mmmm?" I asked.

Rocky glanced over at me and shook his head. "You really are thick sometimes, Plum. I mean it was fun there at the beginning. Stringing you along on those wild goose chases. But your friend in black isn't quite so much fun to play with. Not very lighthearted, know what I mean?"

I had _no idea_ what he meant. I mean, yeah, I knew about Ranger. But I hadn't the slightest clue what the hell was going on. And who was this Barney?

Just then I heard the lock tumble on my door. If I had any luck at all, Ranger would come crashing through any second with some large, muscular linebacker types ready to rearrange Rocky's smug face and rescue me from this disaster. No such luck. It was Ben.

Ben was no Ranger, but he could probably take Rocky and save me. I felt tears start flooding my eyes in relief. Thank goodness for Ben!

However, Rocky must have heard the lock tumble too. He backed into the shadows of the hall and waited. I started making a commotion in an attempt to warn Ben. He saw me out of the corner of his eye and started looking around.

"You here somewhere, Rocky?" he called.

Wait, _what_?

"Oh good, it's just you. I was afraid you might be the man in black. He gives me the chills."

That's right, Rocky! Ranger _should_ give you the chills. He's going to toss you out that window there once he uses his ESP to rescue me. Except at the moment, even I was having a hard time believing that as a real possibility.

"You find it yet?" Ben asked interrupting my growing despair. He did a quick intake of the apartment. "Think you could've made a _bigger_ mess?" he added with a scowl.

Rocky frowned. "It's hard to find things that you don't know much about. You gave me a freaking needle in a haystack, man!"

Ben shrugged. "The payday'll make up for it. I promise."

My eyes still felt like they were stuck in giant saucer mode. Ben and Rocky seemed to know each other, and the relationship was giving me a familiar sick and queasy feeling in my gut. It was the same feeling I'd had after overhearing Ben on the phone in Vegas. I did a mental sigh. How did I _always_ end up in these horrifying and beyond crazy situations?

Rocky caught my eye. "Whatdya wanna do with the girl? She's gonna be a real problem, ya know."

Ben's eyes narrowed. "I'll take care of it."

The reply made my blood run cold. It sounded dark and terrifying. There wasn't a single trace of the doting boyfriend/fiancé that I had spent the last ten months with. Maybe this is what schizophrenia looked like. Ben's alter ego was some kind of freaky homicidal maniac.

A wicked grin spread across Ben's face. "You still trying puzzle through all of this, hot stuff?" He walked over and ruffled the hair on the top of my head. "Don't trouble your simple little brain, sweetheart. You were a means to an end. Nothing more."

I gave him a death glare.

"Gee, that really hurts. Especially coming from my _fiancé_. What's wrong, puddin'? Benny-boo not who you thought he was?" His sing-songy voice was creeping me out.

I channeled my fear into anger. It was a little easier to process.

"MMMMMM! MMMMMMMM! MMM! MMMMM!" I yelled.

"Well, I hate to break this to you sweetheart, but I'm not Ben. You probably guessed that by now, huh?"

He pulled up a chair next to me and straddled it backwards. "Wanna hear a story? Bet you love a good story, huh?"

I narrowed my eyes.

"People have always trusted me. They'd tell me things even when I was younger. Secret things. And I was like, ok, what am I supposed to do with this? At first, I had no idea. It was just how it was. Then one day I'm at the bank, and there's this guy.

I watched him for several minutes and was instantly mesmerized by his confidence and laid back persona. Seemed like he didn't have a care in the world. And everyone seemed to like him. He was charm incarnate.

A week later I found out the bank had been robbed. There was just one fuzzy picture of the suspect. And I knew instantly who it was.

And just like that, I knew I had to find this guy. Finding him was crucial to unlocking my destiny. It took several years, but I finally did it. I finally found Mr. Charm Incarnate. It was no easy task either. The man was a brilliant con artist."

I didn't like where this story was going. It was making my stomach churn and my head spin. Hopefully I wasn't going to be sick.

"Out of respect for the lengths I'd gone through to find him, the man took me under his wing. Showed me the ropes, if you will. He showed me the _value_ of my easy-to-trust face. We developed a partnership of sorts. And it worked out for a while.

But eventually I decided this guy was pulling me down. Holding me back from an existence that could be even better. Then we landed this _major_ job. I'm talking a once-in-a-lifetime gig. And wonder of wonders, we actually pulled the damn thing off. A real highlight in life, ya know? In honor of our success, I decided it was time to dissolve our partnership. In more of a permanent way, if you know what I mean." He grinned coldly.

Oh man! This guy offed his mentor! How sick is that? The realization that I was sitting next to a deranged, grade A psychopath started to really sink in. Along with the fact that I'd spent the last _ten months_ being his girlfriend and sleeping with him! At this point, I was kind of hoping I _would_ die. I wasn't so sure I could even live with this horrifying turn of events.

"But the plot thickens," Ben continued. "My mentor wasn't quite as dumb as he looked. The old coot had organized a con of his own just in case things went south with me. There was another player in the game, and he secretly wired all the money from the big con to an off shore account. There's a case with the account number in it, but you see, I can't seem to find the key."

I shook my head and sighed.

"Oh right," Ben winked. "You're wondering how you fit into all of this, right?"

I guess I kind of did. So after a moment of hesitation, I nodded.

"It's actually a bit of a funny story. I think my mentor was a little leery of me towards the end. You know, suspecting I might not be such a good guy and all, so he started getting all weird. And then one day I noticed he started wearing this necklace.

After putting some clues together, I found out the necklace probably had that key for the case. But do you suppose he was wearing it the day I offed him? Of course not! I tore his place apart looking for the damn thing. Nada. And there was no way this guy was going to get the better of me. So what'd I do? I tracked down Mr. Third Party. He spilled the beans about the case and a possible location of the key right before I spilled his guts. Care to guess where the key is supposed to be?"

I had a hunch it was supposed to be in my apartment. But why?

Rocky was still rummaging around off in the distance not really listening to the story. Maybe he'd already heard this fractured fairy tale.

"Turns out the old guy got a tip from a psychic that he should hide the key. Ha, a fortune teller! Didn't even know the guy believed in that junk. Anyway, he was walking the streets after hearing his bad fortune and happened by this apartment complex as a bunch of guys were coming in for a renovation project. New paint and new carpet in apartment 215. He must have decided it was as good a time as any to unload the key, so he snuck in as a worker and hid it. Third Party gave me the tip on apartment 215, so I did some snooping, and low and behold that apartment belongs to you, hot stuff!"

If he called me "hot stuff" one more time, I was probably going to have to barf. Which would be unfortunate considering I still had tape covering my mouth. Did that mean it would have to come out my nose? Gross…

"So I'm thinking with all the bodies piling up in my wake, I should probably find a different way to handle your situation. I did some research and found out you were a single, decent-looking bounty hunter. And a _great_ opportunity for a con…with some added benefits, if you know what I mean." He winked at me, and I gagged.

"I paid a guy some major bucks to quickly borrow this 'Ben Johnson' identity. I think the _real_ Ben Johnson got a little mixed up with some drug lords in South America. All I know is he didn't make it back from his last business trip, but that's when I showed up. After all, the best lies are wrapped in a little truth, ya know. I followed you around for a while watching your daily routines, who you made contact with, and what could be a potential snag in the plan. But honey, bless your heart, you were easy as pie!"

Guess I'd have to add that to my resume: easy con. The longer Ben's story went on, the more I didn't want to hear any more of it. It was humiliating on an entirely new level. I'd been duped. And not just for a single incident. This was _ten months_ of being duped! Where had my spidey senses gone? Why hadn't I been worried about Ben Johnson? There were a lot of questions that I just didn't have any answers to right now. Maybe I never would.

Rocky came back into the room frowning. "I'm not finding it, Barney. Think she knows where it is?" he asked looking over my direction.

Ew! I'd been dating a _Barney_? That was almost as bad as a Dickie. I sure knew how to pick them, huh?

"I think not. Little Miss Sunshine here didn't even notice me rifling through her apartment over the last ten months. Even when she walked in on me that one morning. That was a riot! You were so guilty about that, I almost blew the lie. But I guess you wouldn't have known all those business meetings were fakes anyway. You were too worried about your piece of meat on the side, huh hot stuff?"

Dammit! I _was_ worried about Ranger, and now I wished I would have listened to him. He suspected all along that this situation wasn't good. He _knew_ Ben…oh wait, I mean _Barney_ …was no good. And I spent TEN MONTHS in obvious DENIAL. I started crying despite my best efforts not to.

"Aw, I hate to see you cry. You get all puffy. Honestly, it's not your best look." He paused. "Sorry about crushing your dreams like this. Your boyfriend has been getting a little too creative in his investigation tactics. Even after I tried to distract him with the collapse of his company. He must like you a whole awful lot to keep you his priority when his legs are sliding out from under him."

The last comment made my chest ache. And I knew it was the truth. Too bad I'd probably never get to tell him thank you.

"I decided I needed some exclusive access to your place, so I decided we could marry in Vegas, and you could conveniently disappear in the Caribbean on our honeymoon. Then once I'd found the key, I'd disappear with the windfall from that last con. It was all going so perfectly too, but then you walked into my room at the hotel in Vegas. What made you run?"

"Mmmmm…" I grumbled.

"Oh. Right." With one gesture, he ripped the tape from my mouth.

"OOoowww!" I yelled. "You lying piece of…" I proceeded to list off every bit of bad language that my mother was always reprimanding me for. And yet, it still didn't seem good enough for Barney. The man was the devil.

"I heard you say 'she doesn't suspect a thing,'" I finally admitted. "You said it in a different voice, and I knew something wasn't right. In fact, I think I _always_ knew something wasn't right. You felt off, but I convinced myself it was everything else in my life that felt off. So take a bow, Barney. You really outdid yourself with this con."

He grinned. "Why thank you. For that compliment, I'll make sure your death is quick and painless."

Oh good. Something to look forward to.

"Hey wait," I added. "Did you kill Ray?"

"That ratty bum?"

"Yeah."

He shrugged. "Had to unfortunately. Saw our pal Rocky here chatting with me in an alley. Didn't want him tipping you off prematurely."

I felt my blood start to boil. "What made you bring Rocky into all of this?"

"He was the distraction for you, darling. I've heard you like a good mystery, so I helped Rocky here keep you busy while I continued to look for that stupid key."

"Good one," I muttered. "Anything else I should know about?"

"Meh," Barney shrugged. "You're not half bad in the sack. Especially when you haven't had sugar in a while. That one night you really outdid yourself, sweetie," he winked.

That did it. I barfed all over the floor.

Barney looked down at it and frowned. "Well that's gross. How's everything coming along, Rocky?" he called down the hall.

"How 'bout you quit playing storyteller and help me out a little?"

Barney got up. "Excuse me," he said.

I sat there wriggling in my chair, pulling at my restraints for all I was worth. I'll be darned if I was going to die thanks to con artist Barney and covered in my own vomit. After a few minutes, I heard something crack and wondered if I'd just broken my wrist. I decided I didn't care and kept wriggling and pulling.

Suddenly I heard a scuffle down the hall. The men were arguing about something, but it all sounded fuzzy and far off. I was probably having an out-of-body experience. There was too much trauma and not enough sugar to balance it all out. In fact, there probably wasn't enough sugar in the world to make me feel better right now.

Somehow I miraculously managed to wriggle out of my bindings. My legs were feeling a little shaky, so I was kind of hobbling toward the door when I heard a shot ring out. My stomach instantly dropped through the floor and I had the urge to vomit again.

Ben suddenly appeared. "How'd you get out of that?" he asked in astonishment. His gun was pointed at me.

I shrugged. My words were a little restricted at the moment. Mostly because I was suddenly aware that this was probably the end for me. All potential weapons were out of reach, and I had a feeling Barney was feeling a little desperate since I was pretty sure he'd just murdered his accomplice.

Then I saw it there. A little Stephanie Plum nuance. Something silly that on any other day would have been a disaster for me, but today it was hopefully going to be my ticket out of this train wreck. I hobbled into the kitchen.

"And where do you think you're going?" Ben asked eyeing me suspiciously.

I shrugged and mustered enough final courage to speak again. "Felt like I needed a cookie before I died. You know, just so the last taste in my mouth wasn't puke."

Barney laughed. "You're something else Stephanie Plum."

Don't I know it… I carefully took the lid off my brown bear cookie jar. The "cookie" I was after was right where I'd left it. Guess Rocky hadn't thought to look in here. I said a silent prayer hoping it was loaded.

"Cookie jar empty?" Barney questioned.

I shook my head. "Just one left," I said as I raised the gun and pulled the trigger.


	30. Chapter 30

My apartment now had _two_ dead bodies bleeding everywhere-thankfully neither of which was mine-and I knew it wouldn't be very long before one of the neighbors was pounding on my door about the gun shots. I shakily walked down the hall toward my bedroom trying to avoid seeing Rocky's form crumpled in the bathroom.

One of my wrists was probably broken because it didn't look quite right, so with my good arm, I shoved my bedroom window open and hopped out onto the fire escape. I just sat there for a moment debating what to do next. Obviously I needed to make it down to the bottom floor and away from the building. At least for the time being. Until my nerves had some time to settle. I'd probably have to relive everything with the cops at some point. No doubt there would be questions. But I decided all of that could wait.

I needed someone to come bail me out again. And there was just one person that came to mind.

I crawled back in my window and managed to find my phone. Then I crawled out onto the fire escape again and dialed a number.

"Yo," answered a very familiar voice.

I couldn't even respond. Instead I burst into uncontrollable sobs. Guess the horror of my day had finally caught up with me.

There were a few moments of silence. "I'll be right there," he said. And then the call ended.

Ranger found me still huddled on my fire escape ten minutes later. He looked me over briefly before crawling through the window and surveying the damage. His face looked grim when he returned.

"I called the police. They should be here shortly." He sat beside me and pulled me close. "Are you hurt?"

I started to shake my head "no" then remembered my wrist. I held it up with my other hand.

Ranger frowned. "Did _he_ do that to you?"

I shook my head. "I think I broke it trying to get out of some industrial strength ropes." I leaned my head against his shoulder. I was suddenly _very_ tired.

"Think you have enough left to make it down the fire escape?"

"Not a chance," I sighed.

Ranger thought for a moment. "Want me to see if they'll wheel you down in a body bag like the other two? Then you can avoid all the crazy neighbors."

I gave a small laugh. "I think that might hit a little too close to home today. Just help me to my feet. I think I might be able to make it."

We hobbled down the rickety fire escape together, and somehow I even made it all the way to Ranger's car. It was like my drive back from the airport all over again. Except this time we made an extra stop at the emergency room to get some x-rays for my wrist. Turns out the breaks in the bone were pretty gnarly. I guess desperate times called for some pretty darn desperate measures today. However, I had to admit that it was kind of liberating to know I could handle something like that. Not that I'd ever want to be in a similar situation _ever_ again, but still…

Ranger let me sleep in the car while he went in and checked on things with the police department. They still needed my full statement on the incident, but between Ranger and Morelli, it was decided that things could be put on hold until the following morning after I had some time to process everything. Thank goodness for friends in the right places, right?

Honestly I don't remember much after that. It was one of those in-and-out-of-consciousness things where one minute I'm here and the next minute I'm there, and then suddenly I'm in bed. To be honest, I wish all my bad days were kind of like that. _So_ much easier to cope with.

The next morning I woke up alone. And I would have been confused again by my surroundings had I not just woken up in the same bed the previous morning. Everything still felt new and unfamiliar, but I had to admit, some of the décor was starting to grow on me. Probably because I knew who it belonged to.

I padded out to the kitchen and found a tray of breakfast goodies waiting for me. Not to mention a piping hot to-go cup of coffee. Better yet, it was a mocha! Hot dog!

I sat sipping it for a few minutes before my solitude was interrupted. Ranger walked through the door with a bag from the Tasty Pastry. "Just in case you don't have enough junk food here," he smiled as he tossed the bag in front of me. I peeked inside. _Two_ Boston Creams!

I pulled one out and offered it to Ranger. "Want one?"

He paused for a moment, apparently thinking something over. "Maybe just a bite."

I raised an eyebrow. "Whoa, you feeling ok? That bite's probably gonna cost you a two-mile run."

Ranger finished his bite then leaned over and kissed me. Wow! Holy sugar kiss, batman!

"It was worth it all for that," he said watching me as he leaned back.

" _Yeah it was,_ " I thought to myself. I couldn't stop smiling. Mostly because my mind had started running with all the fun dessert-kiss possibilities. They should probably make dessert-kissing an Olympic sport. I'd win gold for sure. With the right partner of course.

Ranger's fingers brushed my arm, and I came back from fantasy land. "Want to give me a rundown of what really happened at the apartment before we head over to the station?"

I felt my eyebrows furrow. I still didn't really want to talk about it. But I felt safe here. With him. It was ok to be a fool at this table because I never felt judged here. We teased each other from time to time, but when the chips were down, I knew my faults were loved just as much as my virtues.

I took a deep breath. "Ben was really a Barney," I started. Then I told Ranger everything. I told him about Barney's mentor and the big con. I told him about the off shore account, the key, and the psychic and how everything ended up falling into my lap. I told him about Ray and Rocky and how everything had been nothing more than a façade. And I told him about the cookie jar.

Ranger just sat there listening, his face expressionless like always. He mused over things and shifted in his seat a few times, but mostly he just sat there taking it all in. Nothing from the story seemed to surprise him.

"That's it," I finally said with a sigh. "That's what happened with Ben."

Ranger took my hand and kissed it. "I'm sorry," he offered.

"For what?" I asked incredulously. "This was all _my_ fault."

"I'm sorry that you were hurt. I know how much you wanted that happily ever after. First Dickie screwed it up, and now this." He paused. "You deserve so much more, babe."

At that moment I wanted to tell him that I knew exactly who I deserved, but an old fear crept into my thoughts before I could get it out. Ranger would never do anything to hurt me, even if that meant protecting me from himself. I was terrified he would say no to even the possibility of us. Just to spare me potential heartache. It was noble in a way. But also insanely stupid! I was in love with him, dammit! The whole Ben/Barney fiasco was proof. And all evidence suggested he was in love with me too.

"Still processing?" he asked quietly, interrupting my thoughts.

Something like that… Suddenly I heard the phrase "say it" stuck on repeat in my mind. And it wouldn't shut up.

"Ranger, I…" I started. "I love…donuts." LAME! What the hell did I just say?

Ranger's mouth twitched a little. "I know, babe."

Wait. Was that an "I know that you love donuts" or an "I know what you meant to say" reply? Ugh!

"You ready to head over to the station?" he asked getting up from his chair.

I hung my face in my hands. "Yeah… I suppose now is as good a time as any." Because I'd totally just blown my opportunity to share my true feelings. I think I needed psychiatric help. Sugar obviously wasn't providing the therapy and council I needed to deal with my Ranger problem.

I gave my statement to the police, and in exchange they had me fill out an insane amount of paperwork. The investigations into the disappearance of the real Ben Johnson and the life and crimes of the mysterious Barney No-Name were left open, but I wasn't sure how much they'd really uncover. The guy was truly a masterful con. People trusted him, and he had secrets. Unfortunately, those secrets and all his cons probably went with him to his grave.

A week after the incident I was at my parents' house cleaning out Rex's cage. I'd moved back in with them after the fiasco in my apartment. It was functional…mostly. And therapeutic in a way. My mother's cooking was doing wonders on my emotional state. Unfortunately, her constant questioning and nagging seemed to cancel out any of the benefits of her cooking. Meh, for a few months of free rent, I could deal.

Rex was scurrying around in a casserole dish while I was dumping new hamster bedding into his habitat. I'd filled him in on all the gruesome details that he'd missed out on, and he gave me sympathetic hamster eyes before nibbling on a carrot. He seemed to say that he knew I'd make it out ok. Hamsters were very supportive like that.

I shook the bag of bedding and heard something clink in the cage. For a moment I thought I'd dropped an earring or something. I fished around in the wood shavings and pulled out a small, silver key.

"Oh my gosh!" I gasped as I inspected it. It was Ben/Barney's key! Well, his mentor's key, I guess. He'd dumped it in my industrial sized bag of hamster bedding. And ironically it hadn't even been in my apartment when Rocky had torn it all apart. It was sitting safely in the bedding bag with Rex on his vacation. Man, life was weird like that sometimes.

I sat staring at it for several more minutes before I decided to call Ranger.

"Hey," I said when I heard the line pick up. "You'll never guess what I just found."

"High school year book?"

"Ugh! No, thank goodness. Remember that case Barney was obsessed with? You know the one with the off shore account info?"

"Yes."

"I found the key."

There was a moment of silence. "You know where the case is?"

I laughed. "Not a clue."

"Interested in finding it?"

I sighed. "No," I admitted honestly.

"Well ok then." More silence. "You up for swinging by my place today?"

Ranger had still been very busy with reorganizing everything at Rangeman, and we really hadn't had many opportunities to talk since the apartment situation. I felt a little giddy at the prospect of seeing him.

"Sure. Did you need something?"

"Yes."

"Care to elaborate?"

"No. Let's meet for lunch. 12:30 work?"

"Ok."

"Good. We have some unfinished business to discuss."


	31. Chapter 31

The air was crisp and salty around me. I took off my flip-flops and stepped into the warming sand. It was a form of therapy all its own.

The "unfinished business" that Ranger had been referring to before our lunch date at Rangeman was details for the vacation he'd promised me. Said it would probably be good for my mental and emotional health. Unfortunately, it was only a half-kept promise because he'd sent me on the vacation alone.

I'd protested at first, but I knew things were still busy at Rangeman. And to be honest, I felt like some sun and sand might do me some good too. I was still trying to process the whole Ben/Barney thing.

So I hiked up my big-girl panties and flew on a plane all by myself and landed in Barbados where a luxury hotel room with 24-hour room service was waiting for me. Almost the second I walked through my room door, I kicked off my shoes, locked the door, and crawled in bed. I napped until I couldn't ignore my stomach growling. Then I ordered enough room service to feed an army.

By day two, I was feeling a lot less tired and a lot more relaxed, so I threw on my bikini and hit the beach. The water was stunning! I walked along the surf for what felt like hours. Everything was so peaceful and intoxicating. The only thing that would have made it truly perfect was someone to share it all with. I sighed despite myself.

I sat by the pool and sipped a colorful drink with an umbrella. Later I visited the spa and tried out a mud wrap. They also insisted on a manicure and pedicure, so by the time I left, I almost felt like a brand new woman. Pink toes and French-tipped fingers. I felt exotic and pretty.

In honor of the "new me," I decided to be a little adventurous and try out an ocean-front restaurant for dinner that night. I slipped on a blue sundress and dabbed on some light makeup. My curls had been a little crazy with all the extra humidity, so I pinned them away from my face and deemed myself more or less ready to go.

It was late and a little more crowded than I had anticipated, so I took a seat at the bar. The bartender flirted with me a little while I watched the waves lap gently against the sand. I ordered an appetizer and sat nibbling on it while the people came and went.

I was lost deep in thought when someone tapped me on my shoulder.

"This seat taken?" a familiar voice asked.

I felt a slow smile spread across my face. "Depends who's asking."

I turned around and took in the appearance of the man standing next to me. It startled me at first because it wasn't what I had been expecting. Ranger was wearing a light white linen shirt and khaki cargo shorts. And white athletic shoes. Guess you never know when you might need to outrun a bad guy. There were probably weapons too. There were always weapons.

He shifted on his feet. "I'm not really sure, actually. I was hoping _you_ could tell me."

I raised an eyebrow. "What's with the new look? They lose your luggage at the airport?"

There was a hint of a smile. "A friend told me that everything didn't always have to run like a machine; that I should try changing things up a little." He paused. "What do you think?"

I looked him over again. "You look…I don't know. Very un-Ranger."

He shrugged. "Good. I don't need a street name here. I can just be Carlos."

I went to take a sip of my drink and got a mischievous grin. "Carlos, my cabana boy."

He took the glass from my hand and finished it off. "I thought one of those came with the room."

"Nope. Must be fresh out."

Ranger shook his head. "I don't want to be your cabana boy, babe."

"Oh? But you'd get to help me with my sunscreen."

"Not good enough."

"What is?"

"I was thinking something a bit more…permanent."

I was starting to feel confused. Flirting was fine. We'd always done flirting. But Ranger was sounding a lot more serious than usual. And I was starting to feel panicky.

"But…" I started. I did a mental sigh. Probably best just to get it all out there anyway. "But you said you couldn't do this anymore."

"What? When?"

"The notes. The mystery notes said you couldn't do this anymore."

Ranger shook his head. "Those notes were a stupid idea. They said I couldn't do this anymore _without you_. You must have missed one."

"Oh." I sat for a moment taking in the new message. "What did the note from New York say at the bottom?"

"I love you, Stephanie."

"Oh," I said again. There you go ladies and gentlemen: Stephanie Plum, master of the stupid one word response.

"Are you ok with that?"

Was I ok with that? Yes, I was ok with that! It was probably the best news of my entire life.

"Definitely ok with that," I answered quietly.

Ranger took my hand. "You up for a walk?"

I nodded.

We slipped out of the restaurant and walked down to where the waves were gently washing up along the shoreline. It was quiet and the sun had already disappeared under the horizon.

Ranger stopped and faced me. "I meant to tell you when I got back. But I didn't just want to say it on the street that day. I mean, I did, but I wanted you to know that I'd thought about it. That I meant every word. But then I showed up at your place the next night, and Ben was suddenly in the picture."

I stared at my feet suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"I figured it was just the one date, and I wasn't worried about it like I should have been. But then he started worming his way into your life, and I started to panic. I ran the background check and started watching him. Nothing suspicious came back. It occurred to me then that I might _actually_ lose you.

I tried to voice my concerns about him, but that only seemed to push you further away. So I figured my best chances were to play it from the sidelines. Remind you that if nothing else, I'm always here for you. And I thought the notes gave me an opportunity to tell you how I really felt without overwhelming you. But they obviously backfired. Good thing Ben turned out to be…well, Barney."

It was everything and nothing I'd expected. The confession thrilled me and caught me by surprise all at the same time. And I still felt terrible about Ben. In the end I'd chosen a life with him over Ranger. But to be fair, at the time I didn't think the possibility of Ranger and I being together _was_ an option.

"So…where does that leave us then?" I asked.

"It leaves the ball in your court, babe. I love you, and I think we've got a real shot at something. But it's going to be different and unconventional. If you're not comfortable with that, then I'm offering you a lifetime of friendship and support. It's ultimately up to you. I already know what I want."

I finally looked up from the sand. He was standing there patiently waiting for my response. There was confidence in his posture but a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. I was shocked. How could he not know?

I took a step toward him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I do too," I whispered before leaning in to kiss him. He pulled me close, crushing me against him like he was afraid I'd somehow change my mind and want to escape. I squeezed back tighter. I wasn't going anywhere.


	32. Chapter 32

_A/N: Some of you requested an epilogue for "Bail-Out," so I thought, why not? It follows the second ending for the story. This is for Michelle. You make me smile :) Happy reading, friends!_

Epilogue

 _Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na…Batman!_ The familiar ringtone started chirping in my handbag. I walked my hands backward until I was in something that felt like a sitting position. Except then I remembered how high up I was. Cripes! I slowly moved my hands back to where they were before and held on for dear life. Now was _not_ a good time for this.

"Hey lady!" called the man sitting two branches above me. "Sounds like the dark knight might be trying to call you." He snorted a laugh. "Maybe you should get that."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" I yelled back trying to decide how to give him the finger with my hands currently occupied with a death-grip on a tree branch. Guess he'd have to assume it was implied.

"I'll bet it's important. It's not every day you get a call from a super hero."

Actually I get calls from Batman all the time. Except his alter ego isn't Bruce Wayne. It's Ricardo Carlos Manoso, also known by many as Ranger. And he doesn't live at Wayne Manor. He lives in the penthouse apartment on the seventh floor of a nondescript brick building off of Haywood. And I had a few guesses as to why he might be trying to call me right this very moment. Actually, one guess really. I was late.

"You know, Benny, you could just speed this whole thing right along by shimmying your way down here and hopping in that cab parked at the curb with me."

"Nah, I think I'm good up here. Thanks though."

I glared up at him. Benny "The Brick" Berneski was out on bail for shooting a local bartender in the foot when he was told to pay his tab. Well, that and decking the police officer who tried to apprehend him. Apparently he was a pretty mean and nasty drunk. Sober, he seemed like your regular Joe Shmo living next door. At least by Burg standards.

And I might have even liked the guy a little if he hadn't made the last week and a half of my life a complete disaster. He was my last loose end to tie up at the bonds office before going on vacation. I'd been lucky enough to find him on three separate occasions at three separate bars and in the process I'd become Steph the Duped, Steph the Drenched in Alcohol, and my personal favorite, Steph the Covered in Rotting Garbage. Let's just say Benny wasn't high on my "favorite person" list right now.

And he was sinking lower by the minute. Especially since I had decided to chase him up a tree. Why the tree, you might ask? Probably because I hadn't expected someone nicknamed "The Brick" to be limber enough to climb a tree in the first place. It was kind of funny how often I was wrong about these things.

The Batman theme song started playing again. I sighed. Guess it was time to face the music. Carefully I readjusted myself so that I could reach into the bag I'd slung over my head before attempting to play Tarzan.

I stole a quick glance at the clock on the phone before I answered. I wasn't just late. I was _really_ late.

"Yo," I answered as casually as possible.

"There a reason your tracking device says you're currently ten miles away?"

"Yep."

"Is it a good one?"

"Depends on your definition of 'good.'" There was a lot of silence before I added, "Probably not."

"Do I need to come find you?"

I shifted a little trying to debate my answer. Then the branch suddenly cracked. "Shit!" I screeched as I tightened my grip. I could hear Benny howling in laughter above me.

"Babe?"

"Remind me never to eat another donut again," I said through gritted teeth.

"Where are you?"

"Up a damn tree, ok?" There was a moment of silence on the other end, and I knew Ranger was fighting a smile.

"Today? You picked _today_ to take up tree climbing?"

"No, fate picked today for me to happen on Benny the Brick at a coffee shop drive thru. Except the creep saw me and bolted. I chased him for a few blocks on foot when he decided to test my resolve to bring him in."

"Why not just wait him out on the ground?"

" _Because_ I'm kind of on a tight schedule here." Not to mention hindsight is 20/20.

There was a brief pause. "Want me to swing by and shoot him out of the tree?"

It was a hard offer to refuse. "Right now I'd love nothing more. Except I don't really want you to spend the next several years in prison."

"No worries. I'd make it look like an accident."

No doubt. "Listen, just give me a few more minutes. I think I've got an idea."

"Babe." The call ended. I wasn't sure if that meant I should be expecting his black bat mobile to round the corner in the next few minutes or not. Guess I should get going with that idea of mine.

"Hey Benny?" I called up the tree. "I'm gonna level with you, ok?"

"Sure thing, Plum."

"I've had a really shitty last few years. You see I'm not particularly fond of guys named Ben at the moment because I kind of got conned by one. Well, actually he wasn't a Ben. He was more of a Barney. But the point is, I almost screwed up my life in a major way because of him, and now things are kind of back on track for me. And I'd really appreciate it if you'd let me have one good day here. Just one. I think I deserve one good day amidst all the other shit, don't you Benny?"

"That's a touching story, Plum. Honest, I think I've got the beginnings of some tears in my eyes. But I'm really kind of fond of this tree. It's pretty comfy up here."

I sighed. "Well, I didn't want to have to do this…" I said reaching into my bag again. "Wanna know what happened to the Ben that conned me?" I asked, allowing a sinister smile to cross my face.

Benny smirked. "You chase him up a tree too?"

"He probably wishes that I had." I pulled out my S&W and let Benny's eyes focus in on it.

"Watcha planning on doing with that?" he asked curiously.

"Batman gave me the green light to just go ahead and shoot you out of the tree. Said he could make it look like an accident." Ok, so those weren't the _exact_ words from the conversation, but Benny didn't have to know that.

"Now Plum, I'm pretty sure that's not in the bounty hunter's handbook. You'd probably end up with some time in the clinker for doing something stupid like that."

I shrugged. "Did I mention I've got a lot of friends over at the PD? They aren't exactly happy with you right now because you went and roughed up one of their guys. Pretty sure they'd be willing to look the other way on this one."

Benny's face started to pale. Bingo.

"Oh, and I'm not exactly the best shot. I mean, I try to be accurate, but sometimes these weapony things have a mind of their own. I'd really hate for you to lose a valuable body part in this tree, Ben."

Benny got a smirk on his face. "You're bluffing. I can see it in your eyes, Plum. Nice try."

Bluffing my ass. I fired a warning shot into the tree and felt my heart stutter in my chest when the branch cracked at the force of the recoil.

Fortunately the warning shot worked. I'd never seen a man climb down a tree so fast in all my life. Come to think of it, I'd never seen a man climb down a tree before. Then it occurred to me that Benny was going to reach the pavement before I was. Which would probably give him yet another opportunity to get away. Gah!

I was just planning my own downward descent when I heard what sounded like footsteps sprinting off down the street. Crap. There went Benny.

After getting scratched to hell wriggling down the last few feet of the tree, I decided I'd made it far enough to jump. And promptly fell on my ass. Yep, I was definitely a portrait of grace.

I turned to the street and swore. Of course the cab had left without me. Figures. Guess the tree-climbing charade and the twenty wasn't enough to keep him entertained. Now I was beyond late with no ride and no skip to show for my efforts. Suddenly I felt the sting of tears forming behind my eyes.

"Excuse me, ma'am," someone said interrupting my near-meltdown. "But I think you may have lost something."

I looked over at a mountain-sized man holding a whimpering Benny by his shirt collar.

"Aw, Tank, you shouldn't have," I smiled. "But I'm so glad you did." I quickly glanced around. "You brought a car, right? I'm _really_ late."

"I know. Les is circling the block. Should be by any minute."

As soon as he said it, a black SUV came barreling down the street and screeched to a hault in front of us.

Tank tossed Benny in the back. "Whatdya wanna do with the pain in the ass?" he asked as we sped off down the road.

"I don't have time to think about it. I was supposed to swing by the shop an hour ago."

"I'm on it," Lester said as he swerved in and out of traffic.

"Um, Les? You just passed it," I said as I craned my neck to watch the shop pass by.

"Oops. My bad."

I sighed. "Oh just keep going. This is probably right on par for how this day should be going. I just can't seem to catch a break."

"It's because she's a lunatic," muttered Benny from the back. I heard a loud thunk, and suddenly Benny became a lot quieter.

We pulled into the parking lot, and I dashed up the steps. It wasn't until I was standing inside that I realized I wasn't sure how to handle my classically disheveled appearance. There were a few odds and ends in my bag that might be able to provide some touch-up assistance, but there wasn't a whole lot capable of combatting tree scratches, frizz head, and the lack of dress I was supposed to have picked up.

I was debating which bathroom to go hide in when a rough hand grabbed my wrist and started dragging me down a hallway.

"Hector?" I asked. He turned to me and offered a small smile.

"Come," he said with his thick Spanish accent. "Late." Well that was the understatement of the day.

"Is he mad?" I asked hesitantly.

He glanced back at me then shook his head. "No."

We came to a room with the door cracked open slightly. "In here," Hector ordered. I followed him in.

A familiar dress hung on the back of the door. I felt the prickle of tears again. "You guys are too much," I smiled. "Gracias," I added as I threw my arms around his neck.

"De nada, Florecita." He kissed my forehead then turned and walked out the door.

Quickly I dumped the gown over my head and raced to a mirror to try and do some serious damage control. Twenty minutes later I decided it was probably as good as it was going to get. I poked my head out the door and started tiptoeing back down the hallway. But then I froze. My feet just wouldn't go any further.

I raced back to the room and slumped into a pile on the floor. People were going to talk about this. For a long, _long_ time. And not in the good way I'd always hoped they would. How could I still be Stephanie the screw-up on a day like today?

There was a soft tap on the door. I wiped off a few stray tears before glancing up. The tingles I felt had already given me a pretty good idea of who was standing in front of me.

"Thought I might find you back here," he said kneeling down.

"How did I manage to screw _this_ up?" I asked as a new stream of tears threatened to roll down my cheeks.

"You didn't. You're right on time. Come on." He pulled me to my feet.

"How can I possibly be right on time? I'm _an hour_ late!"

"Do you trust me?" he asked as he led me down another hallway.

"Yes," I answered without even thinking.

We exited the building through a side door. The black Porsche 911 Turbo was parked and waiting.

"What's all this?" I asked. "You weren't thinking about bailing on me, were you?"

He shook his head. "These big shindigs can cause a lot of…stress. Thought it might be wise to have a backup plan." He gave me one of his megawatt smiles.

"I still look dreadful," I grumbled.

He spun me around to face him. "You are stunning as always. And I'd marry you today even if you were covered in sludge and stinky garbage."

I frowned. "Don't say that too loud, or you might get your wish. Stranger things have been known to happen."

His kissed my head and helped me into the car.

"So you've got a plan, huh?" I asked as we pulled out into traffic.

"Always."

I had to admit, the change in schedule was throwing me for a loop. The church, now long behind us, was no doubt full of the friends and relatives that I'd spent countless hours personalizing invitations for. And my mother was probably trying to find a way to sneak a few sips of alcohol to keep from losing her mind.

"Maybe we should go back," I sighed. "I'm feeling kind of guilty leaving everybody hanging like that."

"Why?"

"I invited them to share in our happy day."

"It's not something you really wanted, babe."

"What?" I asked incredulously. "Of course I want to marry you. How could you think otherwise?"

"Well I know you want to _marry_ _me_. Who wouldn't?" He glanced over at me and smirked. Typical Ranger humor. "But I'm pretty sure you didn't want all of _that_. I think you _wanted_ to want that."

I wasn't sure how to respond, so I sat and stared out the window. "Well what _do_ I want then?" I finally asked.

He twitched a subtle smile. "You'll see."

Eventually we pulled up to a small beach front property in Point Pleasant. Tiki torches could be seen flickering around back and a pathway of flower petals snaked a trail around the side of the house. Ranger came around and helped me out of the car.

He leaned in close. "How am I doing so far?" he whispered.

I just stood there and smiled. The setting was beautiful. And perfect.

"I've gotta go and take care of a few things. Think you can give me ten minutes before snooping around?"

I gave him a look, but then I laughed. "I can probably give you five."

He gave me a brief kiss. "Done." Then he pulled a Batman and disappeared.

I leaned over and glanced at my reflection in the Turbo window. It was far from perfect, but there was no denying it. The woman staring back at me was Stephanie Plum through and through. I reached in my bag for some confidence-boosting lip gloss and happened upon a small folded piece of paper instead. I shook my head as I slowly unfolded it. "Turn around," it said. So I followed the instructions.

Tank was waiting for me in a linen button-up shirt and khakis. I could tell he was trying to hold back a smile.

"How does he do it?" I asked softly before taking his arm.

Tank shrugged. "He's Ranger."

We followed the trail of flower petals around back and out onto the beach. A bon fire was blazing, and I felt my smile grow as I began to recognize some familiar faces.

I reached down to slip off my shoes, and when I looked up again, Ranger had magically appeared in front of the fire; his outline a familiar silhouette surrounded by the dancing flames. I was suddenly so overcome by the moment that I let go of Tank and took off at a full sprint toward him. My arms encircled his neck as he spun me around.

"I've never seen anyone sprint down the aisle like that before," he laughed, resting his forehead against mine.

"You," I started, suddenly overcome by emotion. "How do you do it?" Tears were already starting to trickle down my cheeks.

"It's a gift," he grinned. "A gift that comes with loving you." He brushed a few tears away before putting me back on my feet. "You ready?"

I nodded. Ranger had bailed me out yet again. Rescuing me this time from myself. Or maybe the false expectations I had for myself.

His dark eyes glowed in the firelight with a deep and affectionate love that was focused only on me. And unlike all the other momentous occasions in my life that had been tainted with subtle hints of worry and regret, there was no doubt in my mind that this was exactly where I was supposed to be.

A silence suddenly came over our intimate gathering, and I realized that I hadn't been paying much attention to what was going on around me. Someone had been talking, and now everyone's eyes were focused on me. I panicked and bit my lower lip.

Oh, what the hell… "I honestly have no idea what the question was," I confessed. "But my answer will always be yes. Yes, yes, and yes. And I do," I added. "I will. Always. Forever. Because I love you."

"You never disappoint," Ranger said with a subtle shake of his head. "Yes, yes, and yes goes for me too."

A cheer went up from the crowd, and we kissed. It was pretty chaste considering the things firelight does to the sexiest man alive. And the fact that heat was currently radiating from _everywhere_.

We gradually made our way back into the house where Ella was waiting with just about every dish that I'd ever said I'd liked. Including double the desserts. And an enormous layered wedding cake.

"And here I thought the ceremony was going to be the highlight today," I whispered over to Ranger.

He pulled me closer and placed a seductive kiss just below my ear. "Babe, you ain't seen nothing yet."

Oh boy! "Promises, promises," I sighed wistfully. His eyes darkened, and I knew I was pulling the tiger's tail. He gave a barely audible growl, and I knew we were both wondering if it would be rude to randomly disappear for a while. Thankfully the moment passed, and we settled in for an evening of festive dining with our closest friends.

It was everything I never even knew I wanted from this day. Small and intimate with a laid back feel like this all could have taken place around a few greasy pizzas at Pino's. We all sat around talking and laughing at old memories, and I was almost disappointed when everyone started to head home. Almost. Except I had a pretty good idea what was coming once we had the place all to ourselves again.

Once the last goodbye was said, Ranger grabbed my arm and pulled me out the back door. The bonfire was still smoldering in the sand. The night air had cooled with the ocean breeze and I shivered as I stood and watched the waves crash gently along the surf.

"Cold?" Ranger asked as he pulled me closer to him. "We can go back in if you want. I think I have some ideas on how to warm you up quickly."

I gave a knowing smile. "I'm sure you do. Maybe just a few more minutes out here."

He silently slipped his hand in mine and stared out at the ocean beside me.

"Thank you," I said quietly. "For everything. It was _exactly_ what I wanted. And so much more."

"It really was one for the books, wasn't it?"

"I'll say." I turned and wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on my tip toes in hopes for a kiss. Boy did he deliver! Next thing I knew, I was being swept off my feet-literally-and carried back inside.

The bedroom was flickering in the soft glow of candle light and more flower petals were strewn across the bed. Ranger set me down so I had a chance to admire it.

"Better than the wedding cake, right?" he asked, a wolfish grin slowly working its way across his face.

"Ummm…"

He didn't even let me finish my thought. I was on the bed before I even knew what was happening.

"But the dress…" I started, trying to halfheartedly push him away.

"The dress is nice," he said between kisses. "But I think it should probably come off."

"No, I don't want it to get stained from the flower petals."

Ranger scooped up a handful and poured them over me. "They're silk, babe."

I sighed. "You really do think of everything, don't you?"

He got a mischievous look and reached over the side of the bed. Then he placed a small gift bag next to me.

"Aw, you shouldn't have." I pulled out the tissue paper and found something satiny, soft, and white laying on top of a small box. I raised an eyebrow. "You sure this is a gift for me?"

He shrugged. "You can go put it on, and we can find out."

I decided to open the small box first. A pair of simple diamond earrings sparkled in the candlelight. "Wow," I said breathlessly. "They're beautiful."

"I saw them and thought of you." He smiled. "They're rare, exquisite, and obviously stunning."

I leaned over and kissed him. "Thank you so much!" I paused. "But I didn't get _you_ anything."

His eyes darkened. He leaned over me and traced a finger from my neck to my navel; it sent tingles to all the right places. "Go slip into what was in the bag, and we'll call it even."

He kissed me, and we almost forgot about what was in the bag. I quickly slid off the bed and grabbed the slinky piece of lingerie. "Be right back," I called before heading for the bathroom. "Don't go anywhere." I thought I heard him laugh.

Once in the bathroom, I was a little surprised when I slipped the soft white fabric over my head. There was more to it than I thought there would be. But the effect was far from disappointing. Even I had to admit that I looked stunning.

I slowly stepped back into the bedroom and leaned up against the doorway. Ranger's eyes caught mine, and for a brief moment he reminded me of one of those bug-eyed, heart-thumping dogs from the cartoons. I couldn't stop from laughing out loud.

"Cut that out and get over here," he grinned. "Or I might have to do something drastic."

"Oh?"

He leaped off the bed and carried me back to it. I stared into his warm and passionate eyes and smiled. He brushed a few stray curls from my face. "Happy Someday, Babe."

I pulled him close and kissed him. "Happy Someday."


End file.
